The international research network (IRN) Diversity and Biotechnology of Marine Algae (DABMA) is the current manifestation of a long standing collaborative research program between France and South America that dates back to 1991. An initial collaboration between the Station Biologique de Roscoff and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUCCh) was consolidated and extended through transnational and European research programs and the formation of an International Associated Laboratory in 2003. In 2013, a broader network was formed that included additional French and Chilean universities and institutes, together with Brazilian laboratories based in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The DABMA project, which runs from 2021 to 2025, associates 21 French, Chilean and Brazilian laboratories working on a broad range of topics related to marine algal research.