FISMARE

Innovación para la Sostenibilidad

Monday 11 June 2012, by Anna Enrich, DaviniaGuitart, SergiBesa, xavi

1 inspired

A. How did you find this company? What are the main facts about its activities?

FISMARE is a spin-off company that was born inside the Marine Resources and Fisheries Group from the A Coruña University. Their founding team members come from different disciplines and consist of doctors and graduates in Biology, Marine Science and Sociology.

It works in environmental management projects, particularly (but not exclusively) in fisheries management and coastal areas, and aims to provide a novel approach based on active collaboration with users, participatory governance and an approach that integrates science, social sciences and technology to solve problems.
The aim is to develop projects in areas where there is no offer of similar services and not try to compete in markets where supply is already abundant, they believe that a company born from a university should focus its activity in this way to open new lines of action translate business research by their group.
Some of the most important activities of this company are:

  • Strategic consulting in integrated management of natural resources and ecosystems, including fisheries, aquaculture and coastal zones. Some examples of these activities are:

- Analysis about fish stock’s changes, study of areas affected by new construction, pollution…
- Monitoring tools’ development, environmental and resource management.
- Design and implementation of measures of environmental recovery and resource.

  • Studies of cultural heritage and traditional knowledge
  • Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing and hydro-acoustic methods
  • Commercial consulting about fishing products
  • Consultancy for projects development, technical papers and relationship with AAPP
  • Users and technical personal formation

B. What are the Ethical challenges this company is addressing?

As we said, the tendency nowadays is to link the concept of “ethics” and “sustainability” to voluntary money, donations, etc. in order to do some “social welfare”. But the experience has shown that all this money doesn’t get any real successful output.

Fismare, instead of acting like other companies tries to make the difference making their actions count. The group realized that there are many companies and sectors increasingly demanding for projects that need to integrate technology and scientific knowledge to solve environmental problems and promote strategies for sustainability of ecosystems and marine resources.
This company reflects the evolution of the new and real concept of “ethics”. Nobody works for nothing. The company implements new technological tools to improve the management of resources and areas, while maintaining a vocation of ethical and sustainable research and development. The main actions is to concern and show to their clients how they can, by implementing revolutionary new models of resource management in their activities based in sustainability and care of the environment they are operating in (the seaside), improve their activities and even get better outputs from them. Private foundations, NGOs, public administrations and other institutions and sectors are part of the demand.

“The opportunity we saw was the extra value we could offer: a new look at the sector. Moreover, it is also about the possibility to offer a solution to the difficulties students have to get a job by hiring them and giving them the chance to be part of the project” says Juan Freire, one of the founders.

C. What makes this company really inspiring to you and why would you trust it?

Fismare was founded by doctors and graduates in Biology, Marine Science and Sociology with an extensive prior experience in R&D&I applied to environmental management and sustainability, not by just profit minded businesspersons. From our point of view, the implication of their studies represent that they are involved with the care of the environment, and ethically responsible.

Furthermore, the conscience for marine activities is really deep in them due to the Prestige catastrophe suffered in Galícia coasts in 2002. This fact really means for us that they care and that by starting this company they wanted to take the ethical concerns in this sector to the next level in order to avoid such these catastrophes to happen again and to make an impact to companies such as fisheries who may just think on maximizing profits and not taking care of the environment.

Moreover, the fact that they offer students the possibility to be part of Fismare in order to help them knowing the difficulties regarding finding a job nowadays says a lot about their values. Why shouldn’t we hire students that we have taught and know all about their potential and skills?

Make the difference. Make it count!

D.What are the possible challenges facing the company in the future and how do you think this company may improve?

We have found out that the company is in process of dissolution and extinction. Thus, we were interested on knowing which the facts that have led the company to this situation are. In our opinion, we believe that the people of our country is not enough concerned and its behaviour is poorly ethic. Hence, it seems that this kind of ethics company does not fit in our national market and because of this, in crisis time, they are the first ones to fail. Although, we would like to propose some future possibilities to make the firm grow in case that the company would still on the market.

From our point of view, Fismare has to highlight their “open source” organizational model and their ideals of ethical and sustainable business. Morover, Fismare should take advantage of its extensive demand and customers (private foundations, NGOs, public administrations and other institutions and sectors) by committing in some way with them to come forward and achieve their main objective: get a more sustainable and ethic world by optimization of the limited natural resources.

A well known argument in favour to improve the company in the future is to extend to other geographic zones both national and international. Beyond geographic expansion, the Fismare mentally should change in behalf of decentralizing its sector and expand it to other market opportunities such as renewable energies, recycling, etc. Hence, strengthening relationships and working more with other sectors by sensitizing them, including fisheries, their techniques can be improved. Consequently, its bonds and the bonds of herding and agriculture will be strengthened. Furthermore, in order to increase the quality of their products, investing in TIC and working with companies based on them will help Fismare.

Bibliography

http://www.fismare.com
http://www.recursosmarinos.net/category/press-coverage/interviews
http://nomada.blogs.com/jfreire/2006/10/fismare_y_alamu.html
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/canales/cienciagalega/2009/03/09/00031236602121821645289.htm
http://zomobo.net/play.php?id=w7QOERmeG9s
www.axesor.com

Location: Galicia (Spain)

Sector: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Other service activities

Official website: http://www.fismare.com/

Key figures:

Industry: Strategic consultancy in full management of natural resources and ecosystems

Share Capital: 3.100,00 €

Number of Employees: between 5 and 25

Country of Operation: Spain

Current State: Extinction

Nbr. visits: 542

Nbr. inspires: 1