The Catalan aquaCLUSTure dilemma and the process of assisted fertilization / Cristóbal Aguilera & Christopher Rodgers
Abstract
Catalonia has all the elements embodied in Professor Michael Porter’s strategic management system that can be considered essential and necessary for establishing a successful aquaculture cluster, which can be redefined in this case by 6Cs: characteristics, capacities, competition, companies, customers and capital. Catalonia has 450 km of coastline for practicing marine aquaculture, and rivers and natural areas for freshwater continental aquaculture, as well as a strategic study of the most suitable zones where it can be carried out. In addition, there are research centres with qualified scientific and technical personnel for developing new technologies that can be transferred to the sector, a considerable number of entrepreneurs that are still active and focused on diverse production models, and there is active investment of public and private capital that is already committed and would like to continue to commit to aquaculture as a strategy for growth and business diversification.
However, in the process of dynamization and creation of the current cluster, it has been learnt that the policies of competitive change, based on a thorough analysis of the strengths behind the original five primary forces postulated by Porter, that basically make up the structural business model, do not work without the main driving force of the priority area (the producers), which has to be based on the business sector model itself.
After a year of activities, we consider that the achievement to implement a dynamization plan, the mobilization of the sector, helping to question whether the business models are the most adequate, the innovation model, the offer of help and support tools for decision making, have all led to the process being an important qualitative success.
Our creative process is analogous to that used in assisted fertilization when a process of natural reproduction is not possible. In the end, the objective is the same, to obtain viable offspring using part of our hereditary genetic make up and, if possible, to improve them. This article lays the foundation for using assisted fertilization for creating clusters.