Iceland has honoured a Donegal netmaking firm for its "outstanding contribution" to the international fishing industry. Swan Net of Killybegs was bestowed with two prestigious awards at the recent Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition.

That a "cod war" economy, founded on fish and with some of northern Europe's toughest skippers, should recognise the Donegal company is a measure of Swan Net's success. At what has been described as an "Oscars-style" gala evening in Reykjavik, the company was presented with two awards - for top trawl and for the best marketing campaign.

The Donegal firm, which employs 60 people, was the only company to be short-listed for two awards in the competition, which was adjudicated by an independent panel of experts. Over 500 representatives of the international fishing community attended the prize-giving.

The recognition couldn't come at a better time, as Swan Net Ltd celebrates a quarter of a century in business this year.

Established by the top herring skipper, Mr Albert Swan, when he "retired" from sea after 37 years of active fishing, Swan has been developed in partnership with Mr Seamus Hayden of Ardara, and is now directed by another leading skipper, Mr Martin Howley.

Its reputation has already gone before it - about half the factory trawl fleet in Alaska has been converted to Swan Net mid-water trawling, while export sales range from Chile, Argentina and Guatemala to Saudia Arabia, Newfoundland, Norway, Denmark and, of course, Iceland.

Adapting the lightweight and "super strong" Dyneema fibre has allowed the company to improve its design and manufacture of nets.

Skippers in both mid-water and bottom trawling have reported good results.

Recently, the company developed a new mid-water trawl and bag design for fishing blue whiting, a major non-quota species found in abundance off the Irish coast.