Vendors cry mussels and mussels in Rungis

AT RUNGIS, on the outskirts of Paris, the third largest fish market in Europe was preparing for the daily round of restaurateurs and retailers, who begin to show up from 2 a.m. to buy their supplies. Massive swordfish and tuna from the Mediterranean vied with shrimp from Ecuador and squid from India.

Salmon was the most popular species and boxes of Norwegian and Scottish salmon were on display - along with Ocean Farm Irish Atlantic salmon from Killybegs. While Irish supplies account for less than 1 per cent of the annual Rungis sales of 100,000 tonnes, much of the Irish product is sold through international chains.

Although Irish seafood may not have been much in sight at the fish market, on the other side of the city it was in plentiful supply on the BIM stand at the second largest food and drinks exhibition in the world. The SIAL exhibition is held on alternate years with the world's largest food show, ANUGA, in Cologne. The four-day exhibition attracts more than 105,000 traders from more than 80 countries.

BIM, translating Bord Iascaigh Mhara nicely into Bureau Irlandais de la Mer, was host at its stand to three Irish aquaculture companies selling their own innovations in a country where mussels and chips are becoming almost as popular as hamburger and chips.

Fastnet Mussels of Gearies, Co Cork, patented its newly-developed recipe for steam cooking. Its shell-fish are sold through a number of British supermarket chains and the French giant, Carrefour. John and Maria Murphy of Fastnet are also selling mussels through Pinneys of Scotland.

A Fastnet competitor, Bantry Bay Mussels, sells its mussels ready cooked in various sauces as well as vacuum packed. Michael Kinnane and Denis O'Driscoll hope eventually to sell their mussel meals on the Irish market.

Carrokeel Seafoods has its own innovations with barbecued salmon, which now sells in supermarket chains in Ireland, Britain and the Continent.