Overfishing is a problem, but marine life in recent years has benefited from measures such as a 2018 ban on motorized shrimp trawler fishing within 12 miles of the Rio Grande do Sul coast.

The bordering coast is generally low-lying coastal scrub and sand in a long barrier island fronting a chain of lakes and lagoons.

[6] The BC is a western boundary current, the southern hemisphere counterpart of the Gulf Stream, but shallower and weaker.

Commercial fisheries exist for shrimp, weakfish, mullet, sardines, anchovies, and, offshore, shark and tuna.

[11] One study in the 1990s found that 80% of the biomass on the shelf were teleost (ray-finned) fish species of the family (Sciaenidae) (drums and croaker).

[9] Because the bottom in the region features flat, smooth, and shallow waters, it is in important breeding ground for species such as rays and sharks.

In 2018, overfishing led to a ban on trawler fishing out to 12 miles from the coast of the state of Rio Grande do Sul.