Our roots

Heritage

A brief history of the Institute of Marine Sciences

A brief history of the Institute of Marine Sciences

The Fisheries Research Institute
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
1951

The Fisheries Research Institute (Instituto de Investigaciones Pesqueras) was created on October 3 under the direction of Dr. Francisco García del Cid. This Institute consisted of a group of laboratories distributed along the Spanish coast, with two main lines of marine research: marine biology and renewable marine resources.

The scientific journal of the IIP
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
1955

The scientific journal of the Fisheries Research Institute was created under the name Investigación Pesquera (now Scientia Marina).

Barcelona laboratory
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
1957

A new building was built for the Barcelona laboratory in the Barceloneta district: the ground floor was fitted out as aquarium open to the public, and the upper floors as research laboratories.

The CSIC's first oceanographic vessel
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
1979

The CSIC's first oceanographic vessel was launched with the name of the first director of the ICM, García del Cid.

Labs and equiptment at the IIP.  Jordi Salat (1975)
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
1986

The Institute changed its name to the Institute of Marine Sciences (Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM), expanding its research lines with the creation of the departments of Physical Oceanography and Marine Geology.

First Spanish Antarctic station, Juan Carlos I
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
1988

A group of scientists from the ICM set up the first Spanish Antarctic station, the Juan Carlos I.

CMIMA building in 2001
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
2001

A new building was inaugurated in the Olympic Village district of Barcelona and the Mediterranean Marine and Environmental Research Center (CMIMA) was set up. The CMIMA comprises the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM) and the Marine Technology Unit (UTM), a unit to provide support to the Spanish R+D+I policy and marine and polar technology (previously known as UGBO). The new ICM facilities include the first Aquaria and Experimental Chamber Facility and several new scientific and technological services.

SMOS satellite
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
2007

The Barcelona Expert Center (BEC) is created to prepare data processing for the European Space Agency's SMOS mission (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity), which was eventually launched to space in 2009.

BCSI geophysics
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
2008

The Barcelona Center for Subsurface Imaging (Barcelona-CSI) initiates   a long-term alliance with Repsol for technology transfer in the field of geophysics with the Kaleidoscope project.

Computing cluster at ICM
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
2010

The ICM develops a data processing facility to boost bioinformatics, genomics and modeling in marine sciences.

unsplash-image
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
2017

The Institut Català de Recerca per a la Governança del Mar (ICATMAR) is created as a cooperation institution between ICM and the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food from the Generalitat de Catalunya, with the aim of developing a science-based policy for sea governance towards a sustainable management of marine resources.

CEAC - Scientific Advisory Board
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
2018

In November 2018 the Scientific Advisory Board is created, with the objective of overseeing the ICM’s progress and making strategic recommendations. The Board, formed by 10 internationally recognized researchers, held its first meeting on March 2019.

EU Blue Economy
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
2020

The ICM is appointed as the headquarters of the Generalitat de Catalunya ‘Xarxa Marítima’ (BlueNetCat), an intersectoral collaborative network aimed at creating a pole of transfer and innovation on Blue Economy in Catalonia.

The ICM sets up its first Social Board, with the objective of reinforcing ICM’s links with society, by promoting the transfer of knowledge, increasing the citizen participation in research and enhancing its commitment to improving the health and sustainability of our planet.

Excelencia SO
icon-heritage Created with Sketch.
2020 - 2023

The ICM becomes the first research center in marine sciences to obtain the The “Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa” Award.

 

In 2021 the first Gender Equality Plan is presented. The plan seeks to generate a structural change that adopts the principle of gender equality as a transversal axis throughout the institution.

Books about our history