Comunicación CETMAR

Aquaculture Europe

• The Director of CETMAR, Rosa Chapela, is taking part this week in Aquaculture Europe 2025, held in Valencia. She will speak in the roundtable “Attracting new talents in aquaculture” and moderate a session on economics.

The Director of the CETMAR – Technological Centre of the Sea, Rosa Chapela, is participating this week in Aquaculture Europe 2025, an event taking place at the Valencia Conference Centre until Thursday, 25 September, bringing together aquaculture professionals from more than 70 countries.

Under the motto “Aquaculture for Everyone”, the congress addresses key issues such as environmental sustainability, regeneration of primary sectors, and human capital development. One of its goals is to strengthen aquaculture’s role as a strategic element for global food security. This is the largest event ever held at the Valencia Conference Centre and combines scientific sessions, industry forums, innovation workshops, and specific activities for students.

On Wednesday 24 September, Rosa Chapela will take part in the roundtable “Attracting new talents in aquaculture”, together with representatives from research centres, associations, and leading companies in the sector. The debate will focus on the industry’s challenges related to attracting and retaining talent, generational renewal, and progress in gender equality, analysing how diversity and inclusion can foster innovation and resilience in the sector.

On Thursday 25, Chapela will act as moderator of the Market & Value Chain Economics session, alongside Norwegian professor Ragnar Tveterås. This is one of the few sessions at the congress specifically addressing the economic and market dimensions of aquaculture products, a key area to ensure the sector’s viability.

The organisation invited the CETMAR director in advance to coordinate this session, supporting the search for contributions and oral presentations to shape this debate space. The programme includes interventions on topics such as the EU regulatory framework for aquaculture, trends in the aquaculture value chain and its competitiveness, and the role of the blue economy as a driver of new business opportunities in aquaculture.

Through this dual participation in the congress, Rosa Chapela strengthens the visibility of Galician aquaculture in one of the most relevant international forums for the future of aquaculture.

Presentation of the Galician Network of Blue Schools, promoted by the NEREIDA project

• CETMAR supports the Galician Network of Blue Schools, an initiative aimed at training new generations in the protection of aquatic ecosystems and in the use of scientific knowledge as a tool for sustainability and adaptation to climate change.

The Redeiras Building of the University of Vigo hosted this Thursday, September 4, the presentation of the Galician Network of Blue Schools, an initiative promoted through the NEREIDA project with the collaboration of CETMAR, both in the project and in the organization of the event.

The Galician Network of Blue Schools is aimed at educational centres that incorporate ocean and aquaculture culture into their activities through projects linked to the sea, rivers, and lakes that involve the educational community.

Through this Network, participating schools receive support to develop blue projects, access specialised materials, take part in teacher training programmes, and obtain information on funding opportunities. The goal is to engage students and the local community, fostering practical and critical learning about aquatic ecosystems. It also seeks to raise awareness of the fundamental role of the ocean in climate regulation and biodiversity.

The presentation day was held today at the Redeiras Building of the University of Vigo, located in O Berbés. The programme included the institutional presentation of the network, examples of good practices in already accredited schools, a participatory workshop for project creation, and spaces for dialogue and sharing of conclusions. Six schools from the network and seventeen interested schools took part in the initiative, bringing together around 40 participants.

This initiative is part of the Network of European Blue Schools (NEBS), promoted by the European Commission within the framework of the EU4Ocean coalition and coordinated by the European Marine Science Educators Association (EMSEA). It thus contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 14 (quality education and life below water) and to the objectives of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021–2030, led by UNESCO.

The NEREIDA project is funded by FECYT and coordinated by the CIM of the University of Vigo. In addition to CETMAR, collaborators include the Institute of Marine Research IIM-CSIC, the Port Authority of Vigo, FUNDAMAR, 13 Grados, and Northwind.

The Xunta highlights CETMAR’s trajectory as a hub of innovation and research in the maritime and fisheries sector

• Rosa Chapela stressed that investing in Cetmar means investing in the future of the sea of Galicia, in its people, its economy, and its identity.
• The Cetmar Foundation presented the results of its 24 years of activity, highlighting its contribution to marine science, the blue economy, and the international projection of the region.

The director of the Marine Technology Centre–Cetmar Foundation, Rosa Chapela, appeared today before the 8th Commission of the Galician Parliament to present the entity’s trajectory and future challenges, as it approaches its 25th anniversary.

In her address, Chapela underlined Cetmar’s strategic role in the ecosystem of marine science and innovation, and called on parliamentary groups to maintain a commitment that ensures Cetmar can continue to be a useful tool for both the sector and society. The head of the centre, which depends on the Consellería do Mar, stated: “Investing in Cetmar means investing in the future of the sea of Galicia; it means investing in jobs, sustainability, and useful, applied science.”

Cetmar was created in 2001 through an initiative of the Xunta and the Ministry of Science and Innovation as a public foundation of Galician interest. Based in Vigo, but with a clear international projection, its mission is to connect universities, research centres, the fishing and shellfishing sectors, companies, administrations, and society. Cetmar acts as a cooperation platform that, through scientific research, provides practical solutions to the problems of the sea and its people.

Today, the centre has a team of 54 professionals with a wide diversity of profiles, reflecting its interdisciplinary nature. Among them are marine biologists, engineers from different fields, economists, lawyers, chemists, anthropologists, political scientists, and specialists in training and knowledge transfer. This combination of skills allows for integrated work on complex projects, ranging from applied research to international cooperation, always with a practical approach tailored to the needs of the sector and Galician society.

Two decades of research and action

Over more than two decades, Cetmar has actively participated in local, European, and international projects, contributing to strengthening Galicia’s position in the blue economy. The results back this track record: 939 partners in 61 countries, cooperation in 31 states, 122 actions underway with a 61.5% success rate, €11.1 million mobilised with 31 funders, and more than 2,000 students trained at the A Aixola training centre since 2004.

Its activity spans seven specialised areas: control and management of marine resources, fisheries product technology, marine technology unit, promotion and transfer of technology, fisheries socioeconomics, international cooperation, and training.

Examples of ongoing projects include controlling populations of Pacific oyster and analysing mussel seed, tackling marine litter and emerging pollutants, implementing observation systems in collaboration with Portugal, conducting economic impact studies of fisheries and aquaculture, training more than two thousand professionals, and cooperating with African countries through the FAO. Chapela placed special emphasis on two ongoing projects: training maritime professionals through the A Aixola training centre and the overall coordination of the Marine Sciences of Galicia project, framed within a national initiative with a global and ambitious focus on marine well-being.

Cetmar is also part of leading international networks and groups, such as the Technical Expert Group for MSP (DGMARE), the European Marine Board, PtPROTECMA, NOR-WATER, FAMENET, the RCG Secretariat, and ECON ICES, which strengthen Galicia’s presence in marine governance at both the European and global level.

Automatic translation with AI

Galicia defines its Marine Observation Strategy for a more efficient and sustainable use of resources

The Marine Sciences Programme of Galicia is developing the Strategy for the Observation and Monitoring of the Marine Environment of Galicia, a plan that will allow for a better use of existing resources, address identified needs, and anticipate the environmental, social, and economic challenges affecting our sea.

The aim is to establish a more efficient, coordinated, and sustainable observation system, one that will be useful not only for the scientific community but also for productive sectors, public administrations, conservation entities, as well as tourism and outreach. The Strategy will include proposals to improve the efficiency, responsiveness, governance, and communication of marine monitoring systems, and will be completed by the end of 2025.

Its design is based on a broad collaborative process launched three years ago. In previous meetings, experts in oceanographic, biological, socioeconomic, and other types of observation were consulted to identify needs and define priorities for action. The Marine Sciences Programme of Galicia has its own website where progress can be followed.

Within this framework, CETMAR hosted the third participatory workshop. The event brought together 33 representatives from a wide range of entities and sectors, including MeteoGalicia, the General Subdirectorate of Research and Scientific-Technical Support of the Consellería do Mar, INEGA, GALP, the Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC), the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO-CSIC), the University of A Coruña, the University of Vigo, CIMA, IGAFA, the Port Authorities of A Coruña and Vigo, the fishermen’s guilds of Pontevedra and Cambados, the Galician Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds, CEMMA, BDRI, INTECMAR and CETMAR. The diversity of profiles involved ensures that the future Strategy will be a useful and realistic tool, addressing the needs of all stakeholders linked to the sea in Galicia.

*Automatic translation with AI. Original version in Galician: https://cetmar.org/programa-de-ciencias-marinas-de-galicia/

The Xunta strengthens research on mussel farming with the BATEAS project

• The Consellería do Mar, through the Marine Technology Centre–Cetmar Foundation, is developing this initiative aimed at analyzing changes in mussel production and providing useful tools to the sector.

The BATEAS initiative is part of the actions promoted by the Consellería do Mar to improve the knowledge base on the evolution of mussel farming in the Galician rías. The project’s main objective is to better understand the environmental conditions that influence the productivity of rafts, providing answers to the challenges identified by the sector in recent years, as well as to establish a communication channel between mussel farmers and the administration.

The project is led by the Consellería do Mar and co-financed by the European Union through the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). It is complemented by other ongoing initiatives, such as the APROMEX project, led by the Marine Research Centre of Galicia (CIMA), focused on assessing the availability of mussel seed, and Capacitamex, aimed at knowledge transfer through workshops with producers, in which Cetmar also plays an active role.

Among the achievements of the BATEAS initiative is the implementation of a systematic environmental data collection system through a mussel raft in the Ría de Arousa equipped with sensors, which functions as a “sentinel raft.” The technological and technical development is carried out by the Marine Technology Centre–Cetmar Foundation in collaboration with the raft owners, who participate in the design of the solution. Monitoring equipment has been installed to enable real-time tracking of parameters such as water temperature and salinity at different depths, as well as meteorological data and the variation in the weight of mussel ropes. This information is complemented by other data collected periodically during maintenance visits, such as turbidity or fluorescence measurements.

Continuous monitoring of this infrastructure makes it possible to carry out a detailed follow-up of the evolution of environmental conditions in parallel with the growth of mussels on the ropes.

These data can be consulted immediately through the APROMEX project’s online resource portal: https://apromex.gal/recursos-apromex/

Another pillar of the work is the creation of a bidirectional communication channel to facilitate the exchange of information between the mussel sector and the administration. Through the network of contacts generated by the Capacitamex workshops, Cetmar maintains a constant dialogue with the sector, gathering first-hand information on the state of the farms and conveying producers’ needs and priorities to the administration. In this way, the Consellería do Mar promotes more agile, efficient, and data-driven management, contributing to the sustainability of the mussel sector and consolidating Galicia as a benchmark in mussel production.

Galicia leads marine research with new advances in marine sciences and the blue economy

• The Xunta analyzes with those responsible for the Marine Sciences Program the progress and results achieved in Galicia.
• Marine observation, sustainable aquaculture, and knowledge transfer: strategic pillars for the future of the Galician coast.
• Key results and innovative tools for sustainable management, resilience, and adaptation to climate change.

The team responsible for coordinating the Galicia Marine Sciences Program met this Tuesday at the headquarters of the Consellería do Mar with the conselleira, Marta Villaverde, to present first-hand the main results to be achieved and the impact that the actions carried out will have both on the different sectors linked to the sea, as well as on strengthening Galicia’s role as a leading territory in the field of marine research at the national and European level.

Among the most notable advances presented are the development of a strategy for ocean observation and monitoring, supported, among others, by marine information mapping tools such as FARO and the Big Data Platform, which integrates and processes large volumes of data with quality control and unified access. These resources consolidate the path towards data-based governance and strengthen the sustainability of the Galician coast.

Within the framework of this strategy, Galicia now has new tools to optimize the management of the marine environment and its resources, improve the response to environmental threats, and anticipate the impacts of climate change. Among them are the integrated platform for the automated collection of biogeochemical data installed on the Duques de Alba at the Rande bridge in the Vigo estuary, which complements the network of ocean-meteorological stations of the Coastal Observatory of the Xunta de Galicia; systems for detecting risks and pollution episodes; tools for monitoring the traceability, quality, and safety of marine products; predictive models; early warning systems; and multiscale simulators that lay the foundations for the marine digital twin of Galicia.

In the field of sustainable aquaculture, the Program has advanced in the creation of genomic tools to improve resistance to diseases and the management of toxins in species such as mussels, clams, and oysters, through multispecies chips, selection protocols, and genetic analysis software already applicable in commercial hatcheries. Cryopreservation and larval rearing have also been optimized. Advanced molecular techniques for the detection and monitoring of larvae in the natural environment have also been incorporated, favoring more efficient management of shellfish resources. In the field of integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA), offshore and recirculation (RAS) systems are validated, based on the integrated cultivation of fish, macroalgae, and beneficial bacteria, optimizing the use of nutrients and strengthening productive resilience.

The Program incorporates the field of social sciences to improve communication, the transfer of results, and the evaluation of the socioeconomic impact of research. In this area, the construction of the Ocean Health Index (OHI) model stands out, which allows the identification of vulnerabilities and use conflicts, as well as the carrying out of an Input-Output analysis and a Social Accounting Matrix, tools that facilitate the evaluation of the economic interdependence of fishing and the joint integration of socioeconomic and environmental effects. In the area of transfer, the meeting presented the conclusions of the cross-analysis of the Program’s potentially transferable knowledge units, which total 184, grouped in a catalog of results — including reports, software, tools, patents, and others — and which constitute key contributions of the Program to contribute to the construction of an innovative, resilient, knowledge-based blue economy.

At the meeting, the conselleira was invited to the event “From Advances to Impact: II Meeting with the Marine Sectors,” which will take place on October 24, 2025, continuing the first meeting held on December 13, 2024, which was attended by 239 people, of whom 33% belonged to entities external to the Program.

The meeting concluded by informing the conselleira that the final state-level meeting will be held on October 7, 8, and 9 in San Pedro de Pinatar (Murcia). This meeting will offer the Marine Sciences Program a new opportunity to demonstrate its active coordination with the seven autonomous communities that make up the Complementary Plan ThinkInAzul, closing the annual cycle of joint monitoring and planning after a year of intense activity in periodic meetings and in the three working groups created in 2024.

More about the Marine Sciences Program
The Marine Sciences Program aims to improve the resilience and sustainable management of Galician marine ecosystems and resources, especially in the face of climate change; promote sustainability and innovation in the fishing and aquaculture sector; and strengthen knowledge transfer to the socioeconomic fabric linked to the sea.

It has a total budget of ten million euros, of which six come from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan through the State’s Next Generation funds, and the other four million are provided by the Xunta de Galicia through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) and the new European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). Its scientific network is made up of nearly four hundred researchers who integrate the three Galician universities — A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, and Vigo —, four centers dependent on the CSIC, and six community centers, among which are the Galicia Supercomputing Center (CESGA), the Marine Technological Center–Cetmar Foundation, the Marine Research Center (CIMA), the Galician Institute for Aquaculture Training (Igafa), the Technological Institute for the Control of the Marine Environment of Galicia (Intecmar), and MeteoGalicia.

CETMAR promotes the MARdePiura project in Peru to strengthen the blue economy and address climate change

The Centro Tecnológico del Mar-Fundación CETMAR, under the Galician Regional Ministry of the Sea, has recently signed a new collaboration agreement with the Ministry of Presidency, Justice and Sports to implement the MARdePiura project (Women, Aquaculture and Institutional Strengthening for the Sustainable Development of the Blue Economy in the Piura Region), aiming to contribute to the adaptation of artisanal fishing and aquaculture to climate change through a strategy focused on diversification and sustainability.

Funded by the Xunta de Galicia through Cooperación Galega and supported by the Peruvian Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) — through the General Directorate of Artisanal Fishing (DGPA) and FONDEPES — the project will continue the work carried out in recent years in the Bay of Sechura, in northwest Peru, with initiatives such as Acuipesca, VerTyCe, and Aquavalora.

In this new phase, CETMAR will work closely with the Artisanal Fishermen’s Social Organizations (OSPAs) dedicated to cultivating the scallop (Argopecten purpuratus). The goal is to enhance the sustainability of the production chain by introducing laboratory-based seed supply systems and strengthening good practice protocols.

This line of action will increase efficiency and ensure greater resilience of the activity in the face of climate change effects, while ensuring resource conservation.

At the same time, the project will continue to support women-led entrepreneurship in Sechura, focused on marketing artisanal fishery products. Through training activities and the preparation of market research reports, product quality standards will be improved and, simultaneously, market positioning in new markets will be encouraged. This approach aims to increase the income of these women and reinforce their role in the local blue economy.

Finally, the project will also emphasize strengthening the technical capacities of public institutions linked to both aquaculture and maritime fishing tourism. Through training actions and inter-institutional coordination tables, measures that promote the sustainability of the aquaculture production system and the creation of sustainable experiential tourism initiatives in the Piura region will be promoted.

This component aims to diversify the local economy and generate development alternatives complementary to artisanal fishing.

With a budget of €106,848.77, the project seeks to increase the sustainability of the fishery and aquaculture value chain, create new business opportunities, and strengthen institutional governance to face the challenges of climate change.

Galicia–Peru Cooperation

The MARdePiura project strengthens the close ties established between Galicia and Peru, which have a collaborative history spanning over 20 years. Since the 2006-2009 Master Plan, Peru has been considered a strategic country for Galician Cooperation, a relationship that continues under the current V Master Plan 2023-2026.

In 2004, the Xunta de Galicia and the Peruvian Ministry of Production signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Fisheries and Aquaculture Cooperation, renewed in 2014 and still serving as the collaborative framework enabling projects like MARdePiura.