Comunicación CETMAR

A Aixola Launches a New Training Cycle with Sixty Enrolled Participants and International Projects

• The A Aixola Training Centre offers free training in the areas of shipbuilding, fishing gear and equipment, sailmaking, and mechanics.

The A Aixola Training Centre, managed by CETMAR and dependent on the Consellería do Mar, has started a new cycle of courses that will run until December, with around sixty participants enrolled across four training areas. All courses are free of charge, as they are co-financed by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), and take place in facilities provided by the Port Authority of Marín and the Ría de Pontevedra.

One of the main novelties this term is the participation of students in the FAO’s FISH4ACP programme, an international cooperation project led by CETMAR aimed at improving the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Students from the Manual Polyester Lamination and Small Boat Restoration courses will take part, working on the construction of fibre and marine plywood models.

The results of this training will later be applied in São Tomé and Príncipe, where CETMAR experts will deliver workshops with local carpenters and professionals, culminating in the construction of two vessels. They will also provide short training sessions on fishing gear repair, nets, and engines, aimed at strengthening the skills of fishers and women traders.

Among the most notable courses is the one leading to the Professional Certificate in Manufacture and Maintenance of Fishing Gear and Equipment, with A Aixola being the only centre in Galicia permanently accredited to deliver it. This qualification responds to the demand of net-makers’ associations, who see this training as a key tool to ensure generational renewal in the sector.

Wooden boatbuilding remains a fundamental pillar at A Aixola. The centre keeps alive the tradition of carpintería de ribera (traditional Galician wooden boatbuilding), declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage Asset in 2017. A Aixola combines traditional techniques with innovation, preserving boats and materials while promoting new approaches to shipbuilding.

The training offer is completed with courses in Basic Marine Mechanics for Small Vessels, which has received strong demand, and Sailmaking and Rigging, highly valued by both professional technicians and sailing enthusiasts.

The director of CETMAR takes part in Foro Empresa Pontevedra to discuss coastal management in Galicia

• Rosa Chapela, director of CETMAR, presented the Galician Blue Economy Strategy as a roadmap for a sustainable and competitive sea. She highlighted its alignment with the new Coastal Law and its support for emerging sectors.

O Liceo Casino de Pontevedra acolleu hoxe a VI Xornada Triple Hélice. Foro Empresa Pontevedra, un encontro organizado por Foro Empresa Pontevedra coa colaboración e o patrocinio de Santander España, que reuniu representantes da administración, do sector empresarial e do ámbito científico para analizar a nova Lei de ordenación e xestión integrada do litoral de Galicia. A xornada, celebrada en formato xantar-coloquio, centrouse nos retos e oportunidades do novo marco normativo, aprobado pola Xunta de Galicia e recentemente avalado polo Tribunal Constitucional, tras facerse efectivo o traspaso das competencias do litoral á comunidade autónoma o pasado 1 de xullo.

The Liceo Casino of Pontevedra hosted today the 6th Triple Helix Conference – Foro Empresa Pontevedra, an event organized by Foro Empresa Pontevedra with the collaboration and sponsorship of Santander España. The meeting brought together representatives from public administration, the business sector, and the scientific community to analyze the new Law on Integrated Coastal Management and Planning of Galicia.

The conference, held in a lunch–colloquium format, focused on the challenges and opportunities of this new regulatory framework, approved by the Regional Government of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia) and recently endorsed by the Constitutional Court, after the transfer of coastal management powers to the autonomous community became effective on July 1st.

Rosa Chapela, director of the Centro Tecnológico del Mar – Fundación CETMAR, took part with the presentation entitled “The Galician Blue Economy Strategy: a new framework for the marine economy in Galicia”, in which she highlighted that the Galician Blue Economy Strategy (EGEA) defines Galicia’s path toward 2030 within a sustainable growth model based on the responsible use of marine and coastal resources.

The director underlined that the EGEA is structured around three main pillars —environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, and social and territorial cohesion— and aims to consolidate Galicia as a European leader in sustainable blue economy, drawing on its fishing tradition, scientific and technological potential, and the strong capacity for cooperation between public administration, industry, and civil society.

Among the main opportunities provided by this framework, she mentioned fleet decarbonization, the promotion of marine renewable energies and biotechnology, coastal and maritime tourism, and the development of blue skills and talent. The Strategy also does not overlook traditional activities such as fishing, shellfishing, and aquaculture, which are considered essential both in the EGEA and in the new Coastal Law.

Chapela recalled that the Strategy has a budget of 114 million euros until 2027, allocated to actions such as the Blue Economy Observatory, training programmes, and participatory coastal governance projects. She also highlighted the consistency between the Strategy and the new Coastal Law, which establishes a governance framework for a balanced development of the coastal area, resolving use conflicts and promoting collaboration between traditional and emerging sectors.

Rosa Chapela concluded her intervention by stating that the Galician Blue Economy Strategy represents “a national commitment that combines tradition and innovation to make the sea a space of sustainable, competitive, and inclusive future.”

ReMAP presents ten new tools in Finland to improve European marine spatial planning

• ReMAP is a maritime traffic project involving CETMAR’s Fisheries Socioeconomics Area.
• The project, funded by EMFAF, showcased its results in Helsinki: open and interoperable tools for more sustainable marine management.

The ReMAP project, dedicated to developing digital tools to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), presented on October 14–15 its ten modules designed for European MSP specialists during the ReMAP Hands-on Conference, held as part of the MSP Data Week in Helsinki (Finland).

During that week, ReMAP’s tool developers conducted workshops that gathered over 90 participants, with representation from nearly all EU Member States, as well as intergovernmental authorities such as HELCOM-VASAB and PAP/RAC. Also present were the Assistance Mechanism, the Baltic Sea Region Working Group (BSR WG), and the Technical Expert Group on MSP Data (TEG).

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.