Bringing structure to fisheries data, complex consortia, and bilateral cooperation.

Marine & Fisheries Bilateral Cooperation EU & Horizon Europe

Senior independent advisor — 20+ years in marine science, data systems, and project architecture.

Proof

I build the structure behind outcomes: fisheries data infrastructure in production, Horizon Europe proposal architecture, and ministry-level bilateral work.

For research consortium leads, ministry advisors, and industry decision-makers running multi-partner programmes.

Facing a similar challenge? Let's talk
40 TB+ acoustic data reprocessed
6 vessels deployed
9 Dutch-Norwegian studies and missions
15+ years Horizon-style proposal architecture
Since 2009 Sustainovate AS

The thread

Every engagement starts where the picture is incomplete: fragmented data, disconnected expertise, and unclear paths from ambition to action. I bring structure — defining what's needed, bringing in the right specialists, and designing the workflow that delivers. The domain changes; the method doesn't.

01

Unstructured (or absent) inputs

Sensor streams, survey files, policy documents, consortium inputs — fragmented, heterogeneous, at volume. When the data isn't there yet, we start by scoping what to collect and how. Either way: the raw material of every complex project.

02

Structure

Pipelines, frameworks, governance layers, and workflows — built to hold the complexity together and move it forward at the speed decisions actually require.

03

Shared picture

Science, industry, and government aligned around the same auditable view — so the argument stops and the work can start.

04

Action

A funded proposal, a deployed platform, a policy memo, a skipper's decision at the wheelhouse — whatever the situation actually requires.

Every engagement starts with the same discipline: before choosing any tool or platform, I get the logic right. What are we actually trying to achieve? What needs to be true for that to happen? What are we assuming, and what do we know? Only once that is explicit do I build. It is the Logical Framework Horizon Europe proposals run on — applied here from the first conversation, beyond proposal work. I accelerate this with AI-supported tooling, including a proposal-structuring workflow that cross-checks logic, work packages, and call requirements — faster iteration, same rigour, with people in control.

Where we apply it

01

R&D Leadership

I design data systems, processing pipelines, and analytical infrastructure — removing the engineering bottleneck so researchers and operators can act on their data.

02

Project Development & Management

I structure programmes from the first conversation — from ambition to funded proposal, and from funded proposal to delivered programme.

03

Strategic Advisory

I map unknown territory and give decision-makers a clear, evidence-based picture — at the intersection of science, industry, and government.

Who we are

Mark Ybema Mark Ybema — MSc Fisheries Research (Wageningen), 20+ years in marine science, data systems, and international project development.

I lead every engagement — bringing the domain knowledge, the structured methodology, and the continuity. For each project, I assemble the right specialists from a trusted network of independent experts: from PhD-level acoustic researchers and senior cloud engineers to machine learning modellers and government advisors in bilateral cooperation. Whatever the domain requires. You get a focused team without the overhead of a large firm.

Sustainovate AS
Oslo, Norway · Founded 2009

The strategic and R&D arm. Founded in 2009. Sustainovate's work concentrates in marine and fisheries programmes, bilateral cooperation, and Horizon Europe project architecture. The same method has also been applied in ecosystem monitoring, energy, and water systems, where needed. Advisory mandates include Dutch ministry studies, bilateral cooperation scans, multi-partner consortium architecture, and capacity-building programmes for international partners.

Brreg registered · org.nr. available on request
OceanBox B.V.
Bussum, Netherlands · Founded 2021

The technology and product arm, spun off from Sustainovate in 2021. OceanBox currently provides the cloud platform for the European Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association (PFA), processing their acoustic data through EchoSuite — a modular echosounder data processing workflow built on Azure. OceanBox hardware has been installed on six commercial fishing vessels, though active use awaits proven use cases. OceanBox B.V. also developed WASSP multibeam echosounder processing software for ILVO (Belgium), assessing integration pathways for precision fishing applications. It carries the contracts, consortia, and product deployments for the Dutch market and EU project infrastructure.

KvK registered · chamber number available on request

Where we work

The work concentrates in marine, fisheries, and bilateral cooperation.

The same method has also been applied to ecosystem monitoring, energy, and water systems — examples available on request.

Sectors
Marine & Fisheries Environmental Monitoring Bilateral Cooperation Digital & Data Systems EU & Horizon Europe Blue Economy

Track record

Across research, industry, and government — and at their intersection.

Sustainovate delivers into all three worlds. The work that matters most happens where they overlap.

Research

Marine institutes & academia

Collaborative work on responsible fisheries technologies and data infrastructure.

  • ICES WGFAST — Working Group on Fisheries Acoustics, Science and Technology
  • IMROP — hydro-acoustic research-capacity evaluation (Mauritania)
  • Wageningen Marine Research / PFA — European pelagic acoustic data infrastructure
  • NORCE — collaborative R&D on responsible fisheries technologies
Industry

Fishing & blue-economy operators

Turning operational data and networks into commercial value.

  • MareLife — Biomarine CEO network support
  • NO–NL fishing industry — knowledge exchange between fleets
  • Fish by-products — exploring high-value applications
  • Vessel & industry data — strategies for value creation
Government

Ministries & embassy networks

Bilateral cooperation, capacity building, and trade tooling.

  • Norwegian Blue Economy — desk studies for the Dutch government
  • Cambodia — fisheries-governance training for officials
  • NL TradeMate — Dutch embassy-network trade application

At the intersection Most engagements span all three at once: industry operators, research institutes, and ministries on the same proposal, the same governance table, and — increasingly — the same data infrastructure.

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