• More than fifty institutions and companies from the marine, maritime and nautical sectors presented their services, products and knowledge at an event with a complete leisure programme on land and water
• More than twenty experts gave informative sessions on climate change, life at sea and ocean-related activities
• Fimar 2023 also presented a model of intelligent beaches endorsed by specialists as “unique in the world”

The International Sea Fair (Fimar) has closed this Sunday, 18th June, a twelfth edition in which a good part of the capacities, products and services of the institutions and companies whose work is connected with the marine, maritime and nautical sectors have been showcased. Some 18,000 attendees enjoyed yet another year of the three days of a fair that occupied a space of 12,000 square metres in the surroundings of the Muelle Santa Catalina, where different entities and firms linked to the blue economy were presented to the public.

This audience figure does not include the large number of people who participated in activities, excursions and workshops arranged in the production phase before the event (e.g., with schools). The total audience volume certifies the growth fair as one of the significant events in the leisure and economic agenda of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Gran Canaria in the spring.

The blue economy sector, strategic for the city and the island, is where Fimar, an event promoted by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria City Council and the Port Authority of Las Palmas, and organised by the Department of Ciudad de Mar of the capital of Gran Canaria and Infecar, Feria de Gran Canaria, has established itself as a reference point.

A total of 56 exhibitors, distributed in 81 stands, received a large, active and interested public at Fimara to learn more about the activity and research being carried out in the city and on the island about the sea.
Thus, entities such as Red PROMAR (GESPLAN), the PLOCAN consortium (which manages the Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands) and Hoteles Escuela de Canarias (HECANSA), important business organisations such as the Maritime Cluster of the Canary Islands or the Provincial Federation of Small and Medium-sized Metal and New Technologies Companies of Las Palmas (FEMEPA) have been exhibitors at this twelfth edition of the International Maritime Fair. And the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) presented its research activity and academic programmes related to the sea.

The Town Council of Santa Lucía de Tirajana and the Town Council of La Aldea de San Nicolás have also attended this edition of FIMAR as municipalities with a notable activity related to their coastline and the sea.
And there was no shortage of exhibitors from the Spanish Navy, which provided the public with tours of its Maritime Action Vessel (BAM) Relámpago (to great acclaim from the audience).
Fimar 2023 was also notable for the participation of the sports clubs Piragüismo Alcaravaneras, the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria, the Club Maritimo Varadero de Gran Canaria and the Club Deportivo Calypso Atlántico, as well as the Federación de Vela Latina Canaria de Bates and the Asociación Nacional de Patrones Profesionales de Embarcaciones de Recreo (ANPPER), which offered information to the public about its training programmes.

Training is also the object of activity of firms such as the Academia Náutica Arcos and the Academia y Gestoría Náutica Blanco. Or the Stier Group, which offers certified training for the jobs required in the offshore sector (on offshore vessels working in deep water).

Maritime insurance companies like FIATC Seguros and Caser Seguros Grupo Helvetia have also been at Fimar—and accessories companies such as Arteliér 48, Chacho-Chacha and Aloe-aromas Luz & Mar Canarias.

Particularly relevant was the presence at Fimar 2023 of an extensive list of companies that provide services and offer products related to the marine, maritime and nautical sectors, such as equipment, recreational or rescue boats, diving equipment, components, environmental management services, naval and nautical repairs, sanitation and a wide range of capacities within these activities.

Keep Sailing, EPC Centro de Proyectos, Seabob España, Motonautica Las Palmas, Taliarte Distribuciones Náuticas, Canarias Multináutica, AloNautica, APS Motor Canarias, OneUp, IMEF Rescate, Isa Boats Canarias, Sepcan Marina, Navalia Yachting Canarias, Marine, Nacho Sport, Motoras Nauticas Islas Canarias, Domingo Alonso Powersports, Fifo diving shop, Jet Cars Robert Konstantin, Rolnautic Las Palmas, Náutica Motor, Alisios, Esnautica, Distrimar, Wurth Canarias and Remolques Canarios, as well as the Cofradía de Pescadores de San Cristóbal.

Leisure plan

Many people who visited the Santa Catalina Quay this weekend were also attracted by the attractive leisure plan with which Fimar usually captivates its audience. An agenda that has included activities at sea and on land, with busy boat and pedal skate excursions, exhibitions and regattas on the water in different modalities (including Adapted Sailing), baptisms at sea of Latin Sailing or Sailing and tours on the tourist bus inside the port area (aboard the vehicles of the company that provides this service in the capital of Gran Canaria, City Sightseeing).
The activities, like the entrance to the fair, were free of charge, on a first-come, first-served basis until total capacity was reached. They were held regularly on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The playground for children

Fimar 2023 also offered families an extensive plan of activities for the youngest family members, including children under three years of age. Educational workshops, family crafts with recycled materials, skateboards, games in XL format and various activities completed an agenda focused exclusively on children.
Catering area
Fimar also had a space reserved as a restaurant area for the public. Several food trucks provided this service throughout the weekend,
with various types of food and desserts.
On Sunday, 18th June, the catering area was also animated throughout the day with a performance by the musical group Tabaiba.

Informative talks

Fimar has also presented a full agenda of informative talks with free access and translated into sign language, with more than twenty experts in different areas linked to the sea and the blue economy. Climate change, sustainable development, marine life, biodiversity, beach activities and even history are the topics addressed by specialists and teachers. Many are linked to the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The lectures were complemented by various screenings of Rafael Gil’s twelve-minute documentary Islas Orientales, a valuable piece of history dating from 1941, which presents the first films made to promote tourism in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria.

Smart Beach by Fimar

The celebration of Fimar 2023, from 16 to 18th June at the Muelle Santa Catalina, was preceded by an interesting technical and citizen conference held on Thursday, 15th June, at the Centre for Marine-Maritime Innovation (CIMM) in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and organised by the High Technology Incubator in Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence applied to the marine-maritime environment (of the Society for Economic Promotion of Gran Canaria, SPEGC).
Under the name ‘Smart Beach by Fimar’, the meeting highlighted the progress made by the city and the island in the smart management of its beaches, in a project endorsed by the specialists who attended as “unique in the world”.

Specifically, the Ciudad de Mar area of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria presented all the advances achieved in the monitoring of its beaches (with special mention for Las Canteras, as well as Alcaravaneras and La Laja) in sections such as the number of visitors or the consumption of water in the showers. Digitalised actions with sensors significantly improve the management of what are already intelligent beaches.
The IAT Marino-Maritime (Incubator of High Technology in Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence applied to the marine-maritime environment) is configured as a space that offers training, advice and opportunities for business collaboration linked to port services, maritime navigation, renewable energies and offshore services, among others. The initiative seeks to turn Gran Canaria into a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship in the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence in the marine-maritime sector, as well as a benchmark for facilitating innovative business acceleration.

The IAT Marino-Marítima is an initiative of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, managed by the Sociedad de Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria (SPEGC), funded by the Fundación Cameral INCYDE and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund in the framework of the Spanish ERDF 2014-2020 Multiregional Operational Programme A Way of Doing Europe.