The project investigates how a century of pollution in Guanabara Bay has impacted marine life and the humans who consume these fish. The goal is to assess the nutritional quality of the fish compared to those from balanced environments, identify present toxins and the most vulnerable populations, and understand the difficulties in solving this historical problem.

The project involves journalists and marine scientists, who will produce an episode of the Prato Cheio podcast and educational materials for the Mesa Cheia initiative. The focus will be on the work of the UFF Laboratory of Radioecology and Environmental Changes, which studies the impacts of eutrophication on food webs in Guanabara Bay and Arraial do Cabo (RJ). The project will also highlight how scientific and journalistic practices complement each other to understand and communicate the effects of marine pollution.

Eutrophication occurs due to domestic, industrial and agricultural pollution entering aquatic ecosystems, increasing the availability of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. This results in the accumulation of macroalgae and excessive phytoplankton growth, negatively affecting marine metabolism and causing significant ecological and socioeconomic impacts. This project seeks to understand how eutrophication affects the nutritional quality of tropical marine organisms. To achieve this objective, we will analyze different marine and coastal ecosystems affected by eutrophication. We will use stable isotopes to track the transfer of essential components, such as carbon and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, from the base of the food chain to the fish. With this, we will be able to understand the sources of these components and the changes in nutritional quality throughout the food chain. This research will contribute to understanding the impacts of eutrophication on marine food webs and help improve the management of tropical ecosystems.