March 2025

The director of CETMAR is committed to placing fish and blue protein at the centre of European food safety policies

• In the framework of the World Maritime Week at Bilbao, Rosa Chapela advocated for policies that give priority to coastal communities in the strategic planning of the blue economy
• The head of the CETMAR also stressed the importance of fisheries and aquaculture for food security at Eurofishing congress

The managing director of CETMAR, Rosa Chapela Pérez, participated today in the World Maritime Week in Bilbao with two presentations on the importance of blue protein and fish in food security and sovereignty and on the sustainable development of the blue economy.

In her speech at Eurofishing, one of the four parallel congresses dedicated to the fishing industry, the managing director of CETMAR highlighted the importance of fishing and aquaculture in food security and sovereignty.

She recalled that the FAO has been warning since 2014 of the importance of sustainability in fisheries and aquaculture for food security. That requires better fisheries and aquaculture management, strategies for adaptation to climate change and the protection and promotion of artisanal fisheries.

She claimed that «Blue protein is key for human health, economic development and sustainability of our planet», and defended that recognition in European and global food resilience, as well as the strengthening of policies that promote fish consumption and the “real” inclusion of fisheries and aquaculture in the food strategies of administrations.

Additionally, in the session that opened the European Maritime Week, Rosa Chapela defended an effective maritime spatial planning and participatory maritime planning as keys to the sustainable growth of the blue economy, which, “depends on greater integration between sectors, the development of new technologies and a regulation encouraging collaboration.”

The managing director of CETMAR reminded that the consolidation of Member States’ integrated maritime plans is still pending and stressed that it must integrate all blue economy activities and get developed counting on key stakeholders (science, administrations, the maritime-fishing sector, NGOs, and society).

She was in favour of “establishing priorities for the traditional activities on which coastal communities live, like fishing, shellfishing and aquaculture,” leading to “the emerging activities of the blue economy,” in a process of coexistence.

She insisted that the key to accelerate this transition without jeopardizing competitiveness would be “policies combining economic incentives, smart regulations and financial support that put coastal communities at the core.” Thus, they will be “actors and not victims of change” of the sustainable blue transition, showing the Galician Coastal Action Groups (GALP) as an example of involvement.

To meet these objectives, Rosa Chapela stressed the importance of funding measures such as the European Maritime Fund for Fisheries and Aquaculture and pleaded for them to be maintained over time, enabling the updating of the fleet, the implementation of sustainable technologies or the diversification of sources of income. She also highlighted the training programs for the workers in the maritime sector to adapt to the opportunities of blue economy or to the synergies that may arise.

World Maritime Week

The World Maritime Week is held in Bilbao from today until March 21^th, being a meeting point for stakeholders in the global maritime industry. This maritime forum brings together industry professionals every two years with the aim of establishing international alliances, sharing information, and tackling new challenges. Four international congresses are scheduled for this purpose, along with an exhibition area and a space for networking.

The Free LitterAT project, coordinated by CETMAR, brings together in an online toolkit the resources of 25 European projects to prevent and reduce marine litter

• The networking was developed in the framework of the Free LitterAT project in collaboration with the European Commission’s Pillar IV Task Force on Healthy Oceans and Resilient Coasts of the Atlantic Action Plan
• The aim is to involve key European projects in this field in assisting stakeholders to achieve marine litter-free coastal communities

CETMAR developed an online toolkit that brings together the resources of 25 European projects to prevent and reduce marine litter, help stakeholders, and achieve coastal communities free of marine litter.

This work, recently published, was developed in the framework of the Interreg Atlantic Area Free LitterAT project, focused on marine litter and coordinated by CETMAR, and in collaboration with the Healthy Oceans and Resilient Coasts Task Force of the European Commission’s Atlantic Action Plan.

With this support, the area of Control and Management of the Environment and Marine Resources of CETMAR, which depends on the Regional Department for the Sea, contacted more than 30 European projects from different programs that worked on marine litter. 25 of them collaborated in the development of this resources kit.

The document resulting from this collaboration is available on the Free LitterAT project website (https://freelitterat.eu/capitalisation/), providing policy makers, local authorities, researchers, industry, NGOs and civil society with access to key projects in the fight against marine litter and associated resources, while fostering networking.

The resources selected in this kit range from guidelines, methodologies and best practices to manuals, procedures, technological prototypes, life cycle studies, software, applications, and training and communication materials, among others.

In addition, scientific publications on: waste management and recycling, prevention of litter entering the sea, detection and monitoring, collection of marine litter (abandoned or discarded fishing gear, litter fishing programs, coastal and beach cleanup) and awareness-raising are included.

Although this action of the Free LitterAT project was promoted within the framework of the Atlantic Action Plan, it is intended to be applied to other sea basins. The dissemination is planned with the support of the participating projects and the Plan. In the future, joint actions (workshops, pilot actions, training activities) will be planned and the possibility of grouping the results of the projects will be considered to increase their impact and applicability.

The Free LitterAT project

CETMAR coordinates the European project Free LitterAT, which addresses the problem of marine litter through a holistic approach and innovative methods to prevent, monitor and reduce marine litter on the Atlantic coast. 23 organizations from Spain, France, Portugal, and Ireland make up this consortium. They are 14 partners with funding from the European Union’s Atlantic Area Transnational Cooperation Program and 9 associated entities. The Galician participation is very prominent and together with CETMAR, it counts on the participation of IEO, Intecmar and the University of Santiago.

The Marine Science Program consolidates Galicia as a benchmark in the field of science, knowledge, and innovation

• The tools and technologies developed allow optimizing and strengthening the production of seafood and aquaculture products sustainably, boosting the country’s blue economy.
• With a budget of 10 million euros, 4 million are contributed by the Xunta, co-financed by FEMPA.
• Up to now, 110 milestones out of the 233 planned have been completed, and thirty publications of national and international relevance have been disseminated

The government of the Xunta reported on the implementation of the Galician Marine Sciences Program, aimed at transforming and improving the resilience of the Galician sea, by coordinating and promoting research, technological development and dialogue between the scientific and innovation sector and society. The strategy focuses on marine science and seeks to foster collaboration between the Galician research community and the social, economic, and institutional agents linked to maritime-fishing activities.

It deals with three main action lines focused on marine observation and monitoring, aquaculture, and blue economy activities. It is coordinated by the IIM-CSIC, CETMAR and the Marine Research Centre of the University of Vigo (CIM). It counts with the participation of the Marine Research Centre (CIMA), the Galician Institute of Training in Aquaculture (Igafa), MeteoGalicia, the Technological Institute for the Control of the Marine Environment (INTECMAR), as well as the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), the Galicia Supercomputing Centre (Cesga), the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and the University of A Coruña (UdC).

It is financed with 10 million euros, of which 6 million are provided by the Ministry of Science and Innovation through the EU Next Generation program funds, and 4 million by the Xunta de Galicia, through the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (FEMPA).

Specific Actions

There are 39 actions divided into 11 work packages. Data show that 110 events were carried out. Within the first line of action, Observation and Monitoring of the Marine Environment and the Coast, the accessibility of marine data has been strengthened through the BigData Marine Sciences platform. In addition, observation systems have been integrated with advanced sensors, artificial intelligence, and drones to optimize environmental monitoring. Also, oceanographic, fishing and aquaculture prediction models have been improved, advancing in the design of a marine observation strategy for Galicia.

Within the “Sustainable, Intelligent and Precision Aquaculture” line, 90% of the mussel genome has been completed and the chromosomal assembly of Japanese clam has been achieved. Advanced genomic tools for bivalves and fish have been developed, and larval culture and cryopreservation systems have been optimized, improving the survival of cryopreserved larvae. In aquaculture health, diagnostic techniques and efficient feed formula from fish discards have been improved. There has also been progress in non-invasive biosensors for turbot and in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture in offshore and recirculation systems. In octopus farming, welfare monitoring tools have been developed and biomarkers of health and stress have been identified.

Finally, in the third action, “Blue Economy, Innovation and Opportunities,” progress was made to characterize two non-coastal vectors of change, to integrate data in geo-visors and to develop models for the analysis of sectoral interdependence and the value of ecosystem services. Work also included a conceptual framework for the generation of knowledge, the identification of stakeholders in ocean literacy and the development of an inventory of good practices in citizen science. A catalogue of units of knowledge derived from the program was prepared to be transferred along with a training strategy with modules and self-assessment tools.

The Galician Marine Sciences Program also coordinates communication and dissemination activities to ensure the fulfilment of two objectives. These actions aim at allowing the transfer of knowledge, the visibility of results and the strengthening of synergies between stakeholders. It is remarked the meeting held last year at the Cidade da Cultura where more than 230 people participated presenting three dozen publications in national and international reference journals.