The Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal (UNIPS) hosted, for the first time, the annual meeting of MARE – Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences, which took place on October 8 and 9. The meeting brought together about 180 researchers and served to reinforce the University’s participation in this scientific network, promote collaborations, and highlight the research potential of the Sado estuary and the surrounding coastal area.
The MARE community comprises approximately 700 members, spread across eight regional research units. During the two days, participants were involved in working meetings, sessions dedicated to the center’s thematic lines, and moments of reflection on its priorities and the future of research.
For Ricardo Salgado, coordinator of the MARE-UNIPS regional unit, the meeting represents an important milestone in the University’s integration into the network. “UNIPS joined the consortium only recently; this is the first time we host a national MARE meeting, and in that sense, it is an important moment for the University’s assertion in this scientific network,” he said.
The researcher also highlighted the region’s conditions for the development of scientific projects related to aquatic ecosystems. “The Sado estuary and the entire coastal zone we have here,” he said, “constitute a research laboratory with the potential to promote new collaborations among the different regional units of the center.”
The program included a session dedicated to the characteristics of the Sado estuary, with the participation of the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests (ICNF), and a round-table on the National Plan for Nature Restoration, focused on implementing the targets for freshwater and marine ecosystems.
Aquaculture and scientific advice among the priorities
The bringing together of teams geographically dispersed across several regions of the country, including Madeira, was one of the meeting’s objectives, according to Pedro Raposo de Almeida, director of MARE. The official also highlighted the importance of defining research and investment priorities, pointing to aquaculture, the development of more accessible and differentiating technologies, and scientific advice for fisheries management as strategic areas.
The director underscored the center’s scientific breadth, which covers work from freshwater ecosystems to the open ocean and the deep sea. Among the examples of MARE’s contribution to public policies, he highlighted the scientific work related to the National Plan for Nature Restoration, also discussed during the meeting.
Uncertainty in funding concerns researchers
Public funding for research was also discussed. Pedro Raposo de Almeida stated he was “extremely worried” about 2027, given the uncertainty regarding calls for proposals and funding calendars.
Despite these concerns, the official believes that the center has the capacity to meet the projected context. “MARE has the capacity and the robustness necessary to endure what lies ahead,” he said, advocating, however, the reinforcement of resource mobilization through other means.
Among the possibilities highlighted is the deepening of ties to the business sector, notably through the provision of services. The objective is to diversify funding sources and strengthen the center’s ability to maintain scientific activity in a context of greater uncertainty.
