The Paraíba do Norte River, mostly known as Paraíba River, is the most important watercourse of the state of Paraíba in northeastern Brazil.^[1][2] The river originates in the Borborema Plateau, and flows northeast to empty into the Atlantic Ocean, north of João Pessoa, the state capital.^[1] Its constantly menaced estuary has a handful of little islands—among them Restinga and Stuart—and is the habitat of a range of animal species, as well as a number of ecosystems such as mangroves, the Atlantic Forest and salt marshes.^[1]