Oceanographic centre moves into new building in Malaga city port after 40 years at a temporary base

The Malaga Oceanographic Centre is returning to the city after four decades at its temporary base at the fishing port in Fuengirola.

The research centre is in the process of moving into a new 5,000-square-metre building which involved an investment of seven million euros. Although without an official opening, it opened its doors in its new headquarters on the San Andrés quay in the Port of Malaga on Monday 2 September.

"There are still some actions to be taken in this complicated move, such as the fire department inspection next week or the updating of the cleaning contract," its director, Ángel David Macías, said. But on 2 September, its entire staff (95 research personnel and five administrative staff) started to move in.

Collections which contribute to research such as the sedimentology, bacteria, fauna and seabed still need to be transferred across to the new site. Malaga Oceanographic Centre is one of the nine run by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (a body dependent on Spain's national research council CSIC). Eight research groups work on the study of fishing resources, knowledge and conservation of marine biodiversity, monitoring the effects of climate change and pollution on ecosystems, mapping of the seabed and evaluation of geological risks such as tsunamis and underwater volcanoes, among others.

The Oceanographic Centre is returning to what has always been its natural home. From its beginnings, with the creation of the Marine Biology Station of Malaga in 1911, and after its integration into the Spanish Institute of Oceanography in 1914, this centre has always carried out its activity in Malaga city until the 1980s, when, due to a space issue, it was temporarily moved to Fuengirola.

In 2004, the first request was made by Malaga city council for the port to provide a space to house the oceanographic facilities; in 2010, the transfer of the land was signed and in 2016, the works were awarded to Sando with a completion period of 18 months. However, foundation problems delayed the project, which was completed in 2020. Since then, other problems have had to be overcome. The last of these was the introduction of a new electricity supply, as the construction was delayed by three years and the electricity points initially reserved by Endesa were no longer available.

The signing of the contract with Endesa was the necessary step to obtain the operating licence, which arrived last June and which has allowed the transfer of all the office and laboratory furniture to the new premises.

Meanwhile, Ángel David Macías was appointed the new director of this research centre on 1 March, replacing biologist Mari Carmen García, the first woman to head this century-old organisation. They were two "intense" years, as she herself acknowledged in an interview with SUR, having had to deal with enormous administrative changes due to the construction of the new building and many difficulties as it ceased to be an independent institute and instead be integrated into a larger structure such as the CSIC.

Macías took over the baton "with enthusiasm", but aware of the "enormous responsibility". Now, this senior scientist at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO, CSIC) is looking to the future with the aim of turning the Malaga centre into a major research benchmark, with facilities in line with his professional needs. In two months they will add 14 new researchers and five more administrative workers. The new centre will also host several national and international scientific events in the coming weeks.

The first of these will take place from 16-20 September where there will be a gathering of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). Experts from nine countries will share methods for studying the reproduction and growth of various species of small tuna.

From 1-3 October, the general assembly and workshop of MonGOOS (The Mediterranean Oceanographic Network for the Global Ocean Observing System) will be held, bringing together some 30 scientists to discuss the latest developments and innovations in oceanography.

Then, on 26-27 November, the Oceanographic Centre will host the largest European conference on marine science communication, in which 100 experts will take part. "By then, we will be at full capacity," Macías said.