The Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC) is taking part in the launch of ACUIREGAL, the first joint research unit established between CSIC and companies. The initiative is aimed at developing a regenerative aquaculture strategy for Galicia based on scientific evidence, innovation and collaboration between the scientific and business sectors.
The joint unit is the result of collaboration between the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), through IIM-CSIC, the company Octolarvae S.L.U. (Profand Group) and the Institute for the Sustainable Growth of Enterprise (ICSEM), and is funded by the Galician Innovation Agency (GAIN) under the 2025 Joint Research Units Programme.
Based at the Institute of Marine Research, ACUIREGAL will develop over the next three years a regenerative aquaculture strategy focused on marine biodiversity conservation, the restoration of overexploited populations and the development of advanced tools for the environmental, social and technical monitoring of restocking actions.
The initiative also seeks to incorporate specialised infrastructures and advanced scientific tools to guarantee the traceability, effectiveness and sustainability of the actions carried out, while promoting knowledge transfer, scientific outreach and collaboration between institutions.
The scientific coordination of the project is led by IIM-CSIC researchers Ángel F. González González and Jorge Hernández Urcera, with the participation of the ECOBIOMAR, MarSocial, InMare and Oceanography research groups, as well as several support units and general services of the institute. From the collaborating entities, Álvaro Roura, scientific lead at Octolarvae, and Yolanda Molares, scientific lead at ICSEM, are also involved.
ACUIREGAL’s scientific activity is structured around four main lines of work: cultivation and restocking technologies, the creation of the ACUIREGAL Biobank, the design and monitoring of restocking actions, and impact indicators to assess the results of the actions carried out.
The launch of the unit included an institutional visit to Octolarvae’s facilities in Moaña and the initial scientific meeting held at IIM-CSIC, reflecting the shared commitment of public administrations, companies and the scientific community to developing innovative solutions for the conservation and regeneration of Galician marine ecosystems.
ACUIREGAL represents a new model of collaboration between science and business, in which marine research is placed at the service of sustainability, biodiversity conservation and knowledge transfer to address the future challenges of our oceans.
News items: