On October 27, 2021, the extract of the contractual instrument was published in the Brazilian Federal Register, which celebrates a cooperation agreement between UFF and FUNBIO (Brazilian Fund for Biodiversity), which will allocate BRL 2 million to be used in the acquisition of new scientific equipment for the research vessel Ciencias do Mar III.
FUNBIO (https://www.funbio.org.br/) is a non-profit national private financial mechanism that works in partnership with the government, private sectors and civil society so that strategic and financial resources are allocated to effective biodiversity conservation initiatives. The agreement has been conducted by Professor Marcus Rodrigues da Costa, from the ECOPESCA Laboratory of the Institute of Biology, since 2020 and began to be executed in November of this year.
Among the equipment to be acquired are several types of fishing nets for collecting biological material (ichthyoplankton, mid-water, bong, drag), oceanographic bottles, Rosette, CTD and laboratory equipment (microscopes, scales, etc.). In addition, two software will be acquired for navigation/general positioning, acquisition and processing of sonographic data. The equipment is being acquired and should be received by the end of the year. This partnership is extremely relevant for the university within the context of the ship’s activities in teaching, research and extension. The new suite of equipment complements those already installed, allowing students from UFF and partner universities, to experience work on board with the best equipment, resulting in an important differential in their academic formation.
