About IIM

The Institute of Marine Research (IIM-CSIC) is one of the main marine research centers in the Iberian Peninsula. Looking at the Atlantic from Vigo, a city with a strong connection with the sea, the IIM-CSIC faces the challenge of increasing our knowledge about the ocean, from its physical characteristics to the food we take from it and the processes that bind the whole system together.

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Research

Research is at the core of the Institute of Marine Research's work. Working along 3 Core Research Themes, which intertwine and connect to each other, the researchers and technicians at the IIM-CSIC look for answers within 9 different research lines.

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Innovation

While our research provides us with new knowledge about our sea and shores, at the Institute of Marine Research we are committed to go a step further, creating new collaborations with the industry and other economic activities, be they already 'established' industries, such as fisheries or aquaculture, or 'emerging' ones, such as ocean observation.

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Society

Science is not complete until it is shared with society. As a public research institution, the IIM understands that its commitment is with society, fostering a two-way relationship with its surrounding community and an open perspective on science.

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Work & Study

Marine scientists, lab technicians, biologists, chemists and engineers, but also economists, lawyers or communicators (both working and in training) contribute to the interdisciplinary nature of our center. With more than 200 employees, the IIM-CSIC is a large community of people who work together for the sake of science, knowledge and sustainability.

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News & Events

Do you want to be aware of the latest at the IIM? The Institute has a whole team involved in communication & outreach, sharing all news that arise and organizing events to reach all sectors of society: from other peers working in science to children in schools or our neighbors from Vigo.

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Marine Life and Ecosystems

Fisheries

Fish and fishery products remain among the most commonly traded food commodities in the world. That translates into more than 80 million tons of global marine catches and 39 million jobs in fisheries around the world. 

At a local scale, the fishing activity in Galicia has a strong, centuries-old tradition, while from a socio-economic perspective, Galicia accounts for around 43% of the number of vessels and nearly 40% of the number of fishing-related jobs in Spain, with landings exceeding 150,000 tons in 2019 and reaching a value over 470 million euros (pescadegalicia.org). 

Nonetheless, unsustainable fisheries have been steadily increasing since the 1970s, although the rate is slowing down. Regulations to adjust fish catches to the Maximum Sustainable Yield or the recently established landing obligation are measures that attempt to increase the abundance and health of fish stocks and ensure the sustainability of fishing.

Sustainable fisheries require innovations to reduce operational costs and improve revenues without damaging stocks. The IIM-CSIC has a long tradition of collaboration with the fisheries industry at different levels to help it adapt to these new challenges

You can read about all our capabilities and associated services below.

 

Research groups

Capabilities

  • Capabilities | Development of management and decision-making tools based on modeling and simulated scenarios
    Coastal & Environmental Protection Maritime Spatial Planning Ecosystem Services & Governance Aquaculture Fisheries

    Development of space-specific tools for assessment, management and decision-making by modeling the impacts of present and possible future environmental scenarios (pollution, climate change, etc.) on oceanographic conditions, biodiversity distribution, physiological response or fisheries and aquaculture performance.  

    Related research groups

    Oceanic Processes in Global Change Organic Geochemistry Lab Marine Biogeochemistry Photobiology & Toxinology of Phytoplankton Ecophysiology, Biomarkers & Sustainable Management of Bivalves Marine Molecular Pathobiology Immunology & Genomics Integrated marine ecology
  • Capabilities | Development of Artificial Intelligence applications for fisheries management
    Fisheries

    Development of Deep Learning algorithms that allow automating fisheries monitoring processes and reducing time and costs compared with processing by human observers. The applications developed range from innovative systems for real-time remote electronic monitoring, which identify and quantify total catches of fishing vessels (e.g., iObserver), to new image recognition techniques that allow individually identifying fish and estimating population parameters. 

     

    Related research groups

    Biosystem & Bioprocesses Engineering Integrated marine ecology
  • Capabilities | Fisheries stock assessment using traditional and molecular ecology approaches
    Fisheries

    Development of stock assessment models to estimate fish population status and Maximum Sustainable Yields for fisheries, based on fishing pressure data and population dynamics parameters (abundance, distribution, age, fecundity, etc.) obtained using traditional approaches and -omic techniques, which allow for a much higher spatial resolution. 

     

    Related research groups

    Aquatic Biotechnology Lab Integrated marine ecology
  • Capabilities | Assessment of the survival of fisheries by-catch and fish spatial ecology using biotelemetry techniques
    Fisheries Maritime Spatial Planning

    Use of acoustic tags and biotelemetry techniques to monitor fish behavior and assess the survival of fisheries by-catch.

     

    Related research groups

    Integrated marine ecology
  • Prototype | iObserver: On-board electronic monitoring system for catch identification and quantification
    Fisheries

    iObserver is an innovative monitoring device based on automated video monitoring coupled with artificial intelligence developments for visual recognition and quantification of the catches on board fishing vessels.

    iObserver implements a continuous image recording system adaptable to different fishing vessels and deep learning algorithms to automatically identify and quantify catches on board in real time.

    iObserver focuses mainly on developing algorithms for robust automatic species recognition and size estimation of fish transported on a conveyor belt. Trials have been performed on board Spanish oceanographic vessels and commercial vessels. With over 300 days at sea, iObserver was used in more than 1000 hauls and took more than 200,000 pictures, and 17 species have already been included in the system's catalogue.  

    For further information, please contact us by e-mail.

    Related research groups

    Food Biochemistry Biosystem & Bioprocesses Engineering

Services

Active projects