Toralla Marine Science Station (ECIMAT) is the main research infrastructure supporting marine research at the University of Vigo. ECIMAT offers state-of-the-art facilities and specialised services for marine science to the Marine Research Center (CIM) of the University of Vigo. Since its conception, ECIMAT has grown as a research support facility providing services to a few research teams to an international research infrastructure hosting a research cluster. This cluster consolidates all the marine science capacities of the University of Vigo and provides services to researchers both from public and private institutions from all over the world. Through its participation in EMBRC, more than 30 researchers coming from institutions in Europe and beyond have accessed ECIMAT and its services.
ECIMAT offers
ECIMAT has five modular, flexible and functional buildings, in operation since 2006, with state-of-the-art facilities for working with seawater and marine cultures, both on an experimental scale and a pilot scale.
ECIMAT is favorably situated at the southern tip of Ría de Vigo (Toralla Island), part of an upwelling system, with privileged access to several types of coastal ecosystems (rocky and sandy intertidal zones, mudflats, pristine coastal areas, estuaries and seagrass maerl bed).
ECIMAT offers a broad portfolio of services. Many biological resources can be provided thanks to its experimental facilities for their maintenance, conservation or cultivation. ECIMAT can offer access to different ecosystems, among which are rocky and sandy intertidal zones, mudflats, pristine coastal areas, estuaries and seagrass maerl bed. The station also has technology platforms such as bioassays, HF radar, and imaging tools that facilitate sampling and subsequent data analysis.
Service orientation, user support, flexibility and continuous improvement are ECIMAT´s core values, and as such, its service provision system is certified under the standard ISO 9001:2015. ECIMAT counts on a team of more than 20 highly specialised technicians and managers working at the station. In addition, users can rely on the expertise available at the Centre of Marine Research of the University of Vigo, with more than 122 researchers in marine science.
