MR MARK FitzGerald, the son of the former Taoiseach, Dr Garrett FitzGerald, has been appointed chairman of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM). Aged 38, he is managing director of Sherry FitzGerald, which claims to be Dublin's largest estate agency firm.

The Minister for Marine, Mr Barrett, who appointed him, said he will bring to BIM "hands on experience of managing a very successful large service, company in the private sector with a strong commercial focus.

Mr Barrett also appointed Mr Arthur Reynolds to the board. A former staff journalist with The Irish Times, he has a long standing interest in the fishing industry and founded the Irish Skipper magazine in 1964, which he edited for 27 years.