Mr. Donal Buckley:

I will address the issue of boarfish first. We produce approximately 57,000 tonnes of boarfish, which is a very small fish. The issue with boarfish relates to the difficulty with processing because of its size and the fact that it is a scaly fish. We are taking a threefold approach to developing markets for boarfish. It is a delicious, nutritious fish that we want to make available. We are working in China to gain entry to human consumption markets there and have established a base in China with a company that will distribute it and build the market. The Chinese like whole fish and they eat everything.

We are also working at processing the fish. In that context, we are developing a new technology here, with a west of Ireland company, that will cut the head off, remove the gut and squeeze the flesh out. We can use the flesh in that form to produce products like fish fingers and nuggets and compete in those markets. We have a company which is a significant player lined up to take the product to market once the technology is approved. There is an exciting new market to be developed in these cases.