From North to the far South, ACATMAR shows what the Sea Economy really is
ACATMAR, the Brazilian Nautical Association, travels across Brazil, from North to the far South, connecting people, companies and institutions to strengthen the Sea Economy and create real opportunities for the whole sector. The association stepped up a clear strategy and did not stop: to show what the nautical sector really is and the size of the economy it moves.
The path has been presence. ACATMAR takes an active part in events across the country, giving talks that explain what this production chain is, and sits down with governments to help build new opportunities, always with a common-good approach. In a short time results began to show: governments started seeing the sector differently, as a field of opportunity, not a niche topic.
National presence, from the coast to inland waters
Its work is not limited to one state. ACATMAR took the sector to the Amazon, was present in Bahia, gave talks in Rio Grande and keeps a permanent agenda in Santa Catarina, with meetings, technical visits and institutional coordination. Wherever there is navigable water and people who live from it, the association shows up to reveal the sector's potential.
It is proof that the economy of the sea, and of the waters, is national: it applies to the coast and to the rivers and reservoirs inland. That is why ACATMAR has been helping governments with new nautical infrastructure projects, both on the coast and in inland waters, where there is demand for marinas, support points and organized access to the water.
Bringing the sector to the decision-making table
Political coordination is another axis. ACATMAR provided technical support for the creation of the Sea Economy Parliamentary Front in the Federal Senate and is now working on its expansion to the Chamber of Deputies, helping to build, for the first time, a joint front to debate the sector in the National Congress.
This coordination already translates into laws. The association contributed to the creation of the Special Nautical Development Zones (ZENAs) in Santa Catarina and led the mobilization that recognized, in federal law, the profession of sport and recreational sailor. These are changes that provide legal certainty to invest and a legal identity for those who work.
ACATMAR also took over the presidency of the State Governance of the Blue Economy of Santa Catarina. It is a forum that brings together, at the same table, the government and the defense, boating, naval industry, fishing and mariculture sectors, the public sector and the private sector, with a common goal: to make the Blue Economy advance in an integrated way. The association took on the responsibility and called that responsibility to itself.
Training and the first marina school
None of this holds up without skilled people. That is why ACATMAR works from the ground up. In partnership with the Federal Institute of Santa Catarina, it is creating the first marina school, which will train professionals for boat maintenance, operation and services, as well as the gastronomy tied to nautical tourism.
Training also happens at the association's technical forums, which gather professionals from across the chain, and in actions that bring the experience of those already in the market to the training of new workers.
Results that show up across the chain
The strategy pays off from industry to tourism, through retail and services. Exports of sport and leisure boats built in the country remain on the rise, led by the Santa Catarina hubs, and Brazilian companies are gaining competitiveness and international standing. It is a sector that generates industry, technology, jobs, foreign trade and tourism.
Sustainability: those who sail want a clean sea
ACATMAR does not set sustainability aside. Through the Limpeza dos Mares project, it works to show that those who sail do not pollute, quite the opposite: those who sail want clean seas. From diving to beaches, from rivers to rocky shores, the project has already removed more than 205 tonnes of waste from the waters, alongside permanent environmental education work that has reached thousands of students.
Concrete actions, consistent results
Presence at events, coordination with governments, approved laws, infrastructure, workforce training and sustainability. These are different fronts with a single goal: a stronger, better organized and more representative nautical sector. ACATMAR did not stop. It was the association that stepped in, called the responsibility to itself and worked from the ground up, with concrete actions and consistent results, so that Brazil's Sea Economy is recognized for the size it truly has.
