Estonian Marine Institute’s living quarters and harbour facility were opened in Kõiguste

On 15 May, the University of Tartu opened the Estonian Marine Institute’s new research building and modern living quarters for students and staff conducting fieldwork in Kõiguste, on Saaremaa island.

The new research building, designed for large-scale experiments, houses 16 aquariums of 1.5 cubic metres, or mesocosms, in which conditions can be controlled and altered for experiments. In addition, the building serves as a harbour, and, according to the detailed plan, a floating pier and a boat slipway can be built there.

According to Markus Vetemaa, Director of the UT Estonian Marine Institute, the lack of such controlled research facilities so far has hindered researchers’ work and made it more difficult for them to participate in international experimental projects. “Several projects funded under the EU Horizon Europe programme are starting in the new building already this summer,” Vetemaa noted.

A large new laboratory was completed at the Kõiguste field station in 2013 to support monitoring activities and research projects, providing excellent conditions for teaching and analysing samples collected at sea. “However, the field station previously lacked modern living accommodation. Researchers and students were mainly housed in small cabins suitable only for summer use, without water supply or washing facilities,” Vetemaa explained. “Now the living conditions are excellent, and we are seeing rapidly growing interest from international researchers wishing to carry out their work here.”

This year, a new building was constructed to provide modern conveniences and accommodation for up to 12 people. It replaces the nearly 50-year-old, dilapidated former residential building dating from the Saare Kalur collective farm era.

The Estonian Marine Institute has long used the Kõiguste field station as a starting point and base for fieldwork on the Gulf of Riga and the Väinameri Sea. The field station was established in the early 1970s in an unused building of the Saare Kalur fishing collective farm. The institute had received the building from the state to create suitable working and living conditions for researchers conducting fieldwork.

During its first decade, research in Kõiguste focused mainly on the possibilities to rear fish in enclosures. Over time, the Kõiguste field station has developed into one of the main fieldwork support bases for marine research, primarily concerning western Estonia.