The creation of protected areas (PAs) is an essential tool for the preservation of the planet's biodiversity, considering the advanced anthropization already present in natural environments. Environmental Protection Areas (APA) are sustainable use PAs, a category that allows for the development of tourism activities and the extraction of natural resources in a sustainable manner. Therefore, beyond their creation, the territorial management of these uses is critical for the conservation and protection of biodiversity. The Costa dos Corais Environmental Protection Area (APACC) is the largest marine coastal PA in Brazil, and given its territorial extent, one of its main challenges is uncontrolled tourism in reef environments, which are low-resilience ecosystems and highly sensitive to anthropogenic actions. A visitation monitoring protocol was developed with the goal of supporting the managing agency in the APACC's visitation tools. The indicators are based on the regulations already defined by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and scientific literature on anthropogenic impacts on reef environments. Three visitation areas with distinct characteristics were analyzed across three tourist seasons (low, medium, and high) to assess the replicability and effectiveness of the protocol in different usage contexts. In 15 observation fields, it was found that 80% of tourists offered food to wildlife, more than 50% anchored on corals or substrates, and 46% engaged in other prohibited activities. The monitoring will, in the long term, provide the development of a database that correlates visitation with the impacts observed on the biodiversity of these environments.

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