Minister of Science visits Abate Molina Scientific Vessel
July 11th, 2023
The ship is a floating laboratory with the capacity to collect scientific information for research in the areas of hydroacoustics, oceanography, plankton, meteorology, fishing, and direct sampling of species.
On Wednesday, July 5th, in Valparaíso, Aisén Etcheverry, Minister of Science, together with Jorge Soto Macrozona Centro (central macrozone) Seremi, visited scientific vessel Abate Molina, they were received by Gonzalo Pereira Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP)Executive Director , together with a team of professionals and technicians. A tour of the ship was made, the modern facilities and laboratories were shown, and the work and advances in research topics led by Abate Molina today were made known.
The Minister of Science, Aisén Etcheverry explained: “Many people do not know that the State does research. And it does so with two main objectives: to create new technologies that have public goods characteristics or that the country needs; and to generate research that supports public policies design. A great example of this is Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP). Today I visited Abate Molina Ship, in Valparaíso, which is part of the scientific infrastructure for oceanic research in Chile, managed and operated by IFOP, and I was able to see directly how it contributes to national scientific knowledge, to evidence-based public policies development and to training of ocean research field highly specialized people . The various areas that its scientific infrastructure allows to study, how marine biology, oceanography, fishing, aquaculture and many more, allow the country to make informed and sustainable decisions about the management of our ocean”
Gonzalo Pereira, IFOP’s Director, referred to the activity “for us the Sciences Minister’s visit to the scientific vessel is very important, since she was able to see in the field our research work, both fishing and oceanographic, that our institute develops. Pereira also appreciated Jorge Soto macro central zone Seremi’s participation , who was very interested in coordinating activities in conjunction with IFOP and universities in the area ”
Iván Toro, IFOP researcher, explained “our vessel has been operational since 1991 with a project to increase its useful life in 2010, thus improving its technical capabilities and modernizing its scientific equipment. It has an EK60 echosounder used for (Hydroacoustic) assessments of fishery resources. It also has a rosette and CTD that allow evaluating oceanographic variables, plankton equipment, sampling networks and structures, fishing nets to evaluate biology and direct sampling of resources, vision of an important meteorological station in climate change. The abbe makes 7 cruises a year”
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