Yvonne McCarron of Carndonagh seafood company Atlanfish is one of eight professionals to complete the inaugural BIM Seafood Innovation Programme, earning RSM Executive Education’s Innovation Management certification from Rotterdam School of Management. The nine-month programme is designed to give Irish seafood businesses the capability to develop new products and treat innovation as a core business function.

BIM, Ireland’s seafood development agency, runs the programme in partnership with Rotterdam School of Management, combining practical learning, industry insights and tailored business support. Each module includes assignments, hands-on sprints and real-world exercises, with mentoring to apply lessons inside participants’ own operations, according to the programme prospectus.

Atlanfish Ltd, based in Carndonagh, Co. Donegal, was one of seven Irish seafood businesses selected for the programme, alongside Keohane Seafoods, Bantry Bay Premium Seafoods, Oceanpath, The Garvin Seafood Company, Achill Oysters and Atlantis Seafoods. BIM, which is headquartered in Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, delivered €21.9 million in grant aid across 1,606 operations in 2025 through its Seafood Development Programme.

The structural driver is the shift from raw material supply to exporting high-value, consumer-focused seafood products, which BIM says the programme supports by embedding structured new product development inside processing and primary production businesses and helping companies place innovation at the centre of their business models.

BIM chief executive Richard Donnelly said McCarron’s completion “demonstrates her commitment and dedication to the Seafood Innovation Programme” over nine months, and thanked Atlanfish for supporting her participation.

The same cohort included Hugh O’Malley of Achill Oysters and Sheila Garvin of The Garvin Seafood Company in Mayo, who received their certificates from Dr Dirk Deichmann of Rotterdam School of Management.

BIM opened applications for the nine-month programme nationally for people working in seafood processing and primary production who want to bring new ideas to market.

For the sector, the first graduates confirm that Irish seafood processors are adopting formal executive education in innovation management to move towards higher-value, consumer-focused products.