The Spanish Research Council (CSIC) is the largest public research body in Spain and is organised into eight scientific and technical areas, including the Instituto Investigaciones Quimicas y Ambientales de Barcelona (IIQAB), the Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB) and the Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA). IIQUAB is concerned with the transport, fate and effects of organic pollutants in the marine environment to improve the scientific basis for enviromental management policies, while both CEAB (Operational Marine Sciences and Sustainability unit (OMSS)) and IMEDEA (Unit of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (UGIZC)) are concerned with natural resources of the open-sea and coast.