Badejo Quadrado - Poita 9

Mooring 9 at Badejo Quadrado lies in the Portinho of Ilha de Alcatrazes, sheltered from the east wind. Until July 2019, the site was among the most visited in the Refuge, alongside Ilha do Farol, Jardim de Corais and Geladeira. Here you can observe both reef fauna and passing fish, among boulders and a cave covered in algae.

In Alcatrazes, garoupas, budiões and schools of enxada circle around divers, and turtles and invertebrates such as brain coral also draw attention. In the Refuge you can see the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and, at the surface, the ocean sunfish (Mola mola) and the hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini). The archipelago is also home to the largest frigatebird nesting colony in the South Atlantic and is a feeding, breeding and resting area for more than 10,000 seabirds.

Military training closed Alcatrazes to navigation from 1998 to 2008 and kept access restricted until 2016, when the Wildlife Refuge was created. Public visits to the Refuge began in December 2018, on an experimental basis. In the region, weather and sea conditions for navigation and scuba diving tend to be better from November to May. Dolphins often accompany the boats to the archipelago, and whales tend to be seen more frequently from June to September. Bryde's whale and dolphins can be seen in the archipelago throughout the year, while the humpback whale and pelagic seabirds, such as albatrosses and petrels, tend to be more common in autumn and winter.