The Big Interview

Caroline Bocquel on Irish seafood’s ‘seismic’ Brexit moment and the challenge of cracking new markets

Caroline Bocquel, the head of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), discusses how Irish seafood producers have overcome the challenge of Brexit and are now looking to the future with renewed optimism

Caroline Bocquel, chief executive at Bord Iascaigh Mhara, said the seafood industry had suffered in the wake of Brexit but was focused on exploiting new opportunities over the coming years. Picture: Fergal Phillips

Growing up in Drogheda, Caroline Bocquel, head of Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), Ireland’s seafood development agency, says she has spent her life surrounded by the sea.

The influence of that upbringing is very much reflected in Bocquel’s career to date.

Having worked for Capital Bars as a financial controller after she finished university, Bocquel then joined the Marine Institute where she spent 17 years at the state agency responsible for marine research, technology development and innovation.