His goal is to “consolidate and strengthen” this University of Vigo facility, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Until now, he headed the Biological Resources and Marine Culture Unit

Damián Costas has been appointed Director of the Toralla Marine Science Station (ECIMAT), succeeding José Manuel García Estévez. Having recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, this facility of the Marine Research Centre (CIM) at the University of Vigo is entering a new phase which, according to its new Director, will focus on “consolidating and strengthening this strategic infrastructure serving marine research at the University of Vigo and in Galicia”.

Costas aims to continue “improving the quality of the services we provide while adapting to the new scientific and technological needs of our research groups and, in particular, those of the Marine Research Centre (CIM) and the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC).”

“The sea is the beginning of every journey”

Damián Costas takes over the leadership of ECIMAT after being part of the facility since its inauguration in June 2006, when Ricardo Beiras was Director. Throughout this period, he has served as Head of the Biological Resources and Marine Culture Unit (UCM).

“For better or worse, I have been involved from the very beginning of the facility, through its successive expansions and the growth of its capabilities, even during the 2008–2013 financial crisis, when the centre continued to develop despite an extremely challenging context, thanks to the remarkable commitment of both the technical staff and the management team,” he recalls.

“This experience,” he adds, “has given me first-hand knowledge of both the strengths of the centre and the challenges ahead. I believe this provides a solid foundation for taking on the role with a thorough understanding of ECIMAT, which in some respects now needs to evolve.”

Drawing on this experience, Costas highlights above all the work carried out by everyone who has contributed to the station over the past two decades.

“The reputation ECIMAT enjoys today is the result of sustained collective effort over many years,” he says, expressing his hope that this new chapter, which he approaches with enthusiasm, will help ensure that ECIMAT “continues to be a leading marine station, a valuable research infrastructure, and a key element in consolidating the CIM and the University of Vigo as internationally recognised leaders in marine sciences.”

He also thanked the University’s new Rectoral Team for their confidence in him, adding:

“The sea is the beginning of every journey. Let us walk those paths together.”

A future built around people

Looking ahead, the new Director sees leadership as “an open and participatory endeavour, based on active listening, trust, collaboration, participation, co-governance, scientific rigour, a commitment to service, and recognising the knowledge and experience of everyone who forms part of ECIMAT for the benefit of society.”

To achieve this, he plans to establish internal bodies that promote collaboration, transparency and communication, because “ECIMAT’s true value lies in its people. I am convinced that, by working as a single team, with a clear structure, defined responsibilities and objectives, stronger interconnections, and always in close coordination with the CIM Directorate and the Vice-Rectorate for Research, we will be able to continue moving forward.”

Costas also intends to strengthen the attraction of external users so that ECIMAT remains an open and dynamic research infrastructure.

“We have a responsibility to reinforce collaboration with our immediate environment, including research groups and other institutions, but also with stakeholders closely linked to the marine environment, such as aquaculture and technology companies, local production sectors, fisheries guilds, wastewater treatment operators, producer organisations and environmental organisations. We must ensure that society benefits from our work and identify the most effective ways of delivering that value through the University.”

At the international level, through ECIMAT’s role as one of the Spanish facilities within EMBRC, an infrastructure included in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap, Costas believes that “ECIMAT should continue strengthening its scientific services, particularly those in highest demand, including ecosystem access, marine cultures, mesocosms and oceanography.”

Finally, he announced plans to implement a comprehensive maintenance programme for the station’s facilities, equipment and infrastructure.

“We operate in a highly demanding marine environment, with facilities located on the shoreline or directly at sea, including the pier, raft platform, research vessels and seawater intake system. This requires intensive and costly maintenance. We also aim to modernise our facilities and equipment, promote the digitalisation and automation of selected processes, identify new services in collaboration with researchers, revise our internal operating procedures, develop a comprehensive service catalogue, and recover services and capabilities that have been lost or have seen limited demand in recent years.”

A leading marine research infrastructure in Galicia

Located on Toralla Island, ECIMAT is situated in an area of exceptionally high marine productivity and has progressively developed into a state-of-the-art research facility. Its infrastructure includes an experimental mussel raft in the Ría de Aldán, an advanced mesocosm system, a new plug-in hybrid oceanographic research vessel, and several smaller boats.

ECIMAT is also part of the European Marine Biological Resource Centre (EMBRC), making it a strategic access point for researchers from across Europe interested in the experimental study of marine ecosystems.

The station’s personnel, services and facilities are currently organised into four functional units: the Biological Resources and Marine Culture Unit (UCM), the Environmental Quality and Histology Unit (UCA), the Marine Environment Unit (UMM) and the Oceanography Unit (UO).

The station operates a dual seawater intake located almost 400 metres offshore towards the Cíes Islands, at a depth of eight metres, “providing us with seawater of outstanding quality,” explains the new Director.

The main building houses several temperature-controlled rooms, a wet laboratory, marine culture facilities, collection and model organism facilities, a biosafety laboratory, a diving equipment room, a dry laboratory, sample processing and storage areas, and meeting rooms.

Adjacent to the building is the mesocosm facility, inaugurated in 2023, which includes laboratory space together with a range of experimental tanks capable of recreating marine ecosystems under near-natural conditions.

According to Costas, these capabilities resulted in more than 1,100 service bookings, over 350 equipment reservations, and an average occupancy of approximately 75% across temperature-controlled rooms, dedicated laboratories, workspaces and meeting rooms during 2025.

CIM has been awarded the CIGUS distinction by the Regional Government of Galicia, recognising the quality and impact of its research. Its activities are co-funded by the European Union through the 2021–2027 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Programme.

Fonte: DUVI