The platform, developed by ICATMAR, provides access to key information for sustainable fisheries management in Catalonia.
Members of the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) have been awarded one of the Knowledge Transfer Prizes granted annually by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), for the development of an innovative digital tool that facilitates open access to fisheries data in Catalonia.
This recognition highlights the work of the Catalan Institute for Research on Marine Governance (ICATMAR), which has led to the creation of an advanced and accessible web application. The platform allows users to view, explore, and download systematically collected fisheries data along the Catalan coast, and it has become a reference tool for scientists, fisheries managers, fishers, and the general public alike.
The application, which began development in 2021 through the Maritime Network of Catalonia, BlueNetCat, has been improved over time thanks to the efforts of ICATMAR. It is currently available in several languages on the ICATMAR website and provides detailed information on species-specific catches, fishing effort, geographical distribution, and other essential indicators for understanding the state of fisheries and promoting sustainable management.
“We are very proud to receive this award, which recognises the efforts of the entire team to make marine science accessible to society in a useful, understandable, and transparent way. This award-winning application would not have been possible without all the knowledge acquired at ICATMAR, excellent data organisation, and continued development,” says Gerard Llorach Tó, the lead developer of the application.
Jordi Ribera Altimir, Head of Information Systems at ICATMAR, adds that
“This award reinforces our vision that it is essential to have continuous, high-quality, open-access scientific data collection to advise administrations on fisheries management and to transfer all acquired knowledge to the scientific community and society.”
The system's technical and scientific details have been published in the journal Database and can be consulted through this article.
With this award, the CSIC reaffirms the importance of promoting knowledge transfer initiatives that have a direct impact on society and contribute to evidence-based decision-making.