Oihane C. Basurko, AZTI’s marine litter expert, receives the Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Marine Sustainability

• This researcher at AZTI has been awarded for her excellent professional career in the fields of sustainability and circular economy.
• Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Marine Sustainability recognises the work of Spanish scientists in the field of marine sustainability, in the sustainable exploitation of marine resources and in the regeneration of their natural resources.

3 November 2022. -Dr. Oihane C. Basurko, head of marine litter studies at AZTI, has received the newly created Banco Sabadell Foundation Award for Marine Sustainability. The jury highlighted Dr. C. Basurko for her excellent professional career and the great diversity of research lines she has worked on during her career in the field of marine sustainability and the circular economy. It also distinguished the level of leadership, the social projection and the high number of scientific dissemination activities shown by the researcher at AZTI, as well as the relevant potential in terms of applicability, impact and innovation in all the research projects carried out.

“Receiving this award has been not only a great joy, but also a way of recognising effort and a job well done, a reward for the hours I have lost from my children and family to work on something that I believe is important for their present and future”, underlined C. Basurko. To which he added that “it is a motivation to continue working on the development of applied solutions for marine sustainability. The sole fact of having an award for this applied field is already a step forward to visualise those of us who work in it”.

Dr. Oihane C. Basurko’s research lines focus on the development of solutions aimed at the fishing, aquaculture and maritime transport sectors, as well as regional, national and European administrations, to help them implement new behaviours, focused on sustainability and circular economy, in relation to both marine litter pollution and decarbonisation.

Regarding marine litter pollution, the award-winner has coordinated several European projects to assess the concentration, sources and accumulation areas of marine litter and microplastics in the Bay of Biscay. In these projects, she has collaborated in the development of tools and technologies for the monitoring and management of marine and estuarine litter, the development of new designs and circular business models for discarded fishing gear, and the implementation of initiatives such as “trash fishing” in the Basque Country, with the aim of educating society on good practices concerning this global problem.

In relation to the decarbonisation of fishing fleets, her career has focused on studying the sector’s situation with regard to fuel consumption and its carbon footprint. In this line, she has collaborated in the development of methodologies for energy audits, prediction of energy consumption and exploration of new technologies, such as the development of two types of devices (GESTOIL and SIMUL) designed to monitor and manage fuel consumption.

Josep Oliu, president of Banco Sabadell, gave the award on 15 November at a ceremony held at the Itsasmuseum (Bilbao Maritime Museum), with the presence of Miquel Molins, president of the Banco Sabadell Foundation, as well as institutional representatives, among other attendees.