Imbituba

Imbituba is a port and coastal town in the southern Brazil state of Santa Catarina. It has a population of around 39,000. Up until the middle of the twentieth century Imbituba was an important home of Brazilian whalers since 1796, when the Sothernmost whaling station in Brazil was established there to prey on Right whales. Today, the rebuilt whaling station is a historic site and Museum managed by the internationally acclaimed [http://www.baleiafranca.org.br Projeto Baleia Franca/Brazilian Right Whale Project] , which is based in nearby Itapirubá Beach at the National Right Whale Conservation Center and has worked for the recovery of this endangered whale species since 1982.

Right whales visit Imbituba and particularly Itapirubá and Ibiraquera/Ribanceira beaches in winter and spring to mate, give birth and nurse their calves. Thanks to the work of the Right Whale Project, this region has become a federal Environmental Protection Area currently under implementation.

Imbituba has stocks in Brazil market Bovespa. The codes of the stocks are imbi4 and imbi3.

The administration of the port changed in 2005 and it has been receiving a lot of investment. In the future the Brazilian government wishes to invest a lot of money to transform the port into one of the most important ports in Brazil, such as the Santos port.

The Brazilian Government is investing in the infrastructure near the port, such as roads, railroads and much more. The Santa Catarina investments put the port as firt priority of the city, which is unfortunate as tourism should also be given adequate priority due to the regional potential, in particular ecotourism and historical sites.

Imbituba is now one of the homes for WCT world wide surfing championships, others being in places like Australia and Africa.

It is also home to a population of Portuguese, Italian and German descent, and it is about one hour drive from Florianopolis, Santa Catarina's capital.