2011 ANNUAL REPORT Page 2
There have been a number of things in the past year
however that have certainly made all the effort
worthwhile. Diobas has become known across the world and
our website is top of over 140 million sites on Google
for example when searching under “ Cod Research “, ahead
of all the Government establishments and other
institutions, universities, research labs, other
companies etc. And we have many other top listings
across the web on a variety of related subjects. This
has not happened over-night, it has taken many years to
establish our reputation and credibility. We never pay
to advertise our products or curry favour with anyone,
as you may have noticed.
It has been achieved through constant discussions with a
myriad of contacts, both within the fish farming
industry and far beyond across the spectrum of appeal
that our technology has generated. The Ciren research
for instance has many other possible routes to market as
does our EMF program and of course the endless
possibilities of our Particle Fractionator. Whilst all
have been developed in order to maximise the viability
of our Oroborus Modules and fish production in general
the various breakthroughs we have made all have a very
wide commercial appeal, which, as yet, has been largely
unexplored.
It is just not possible for us to progress on every
front without backing, both financial and in terms of
manpower. Which leads me to our next option.
3)
As we lack the manpower, resources
and to some degree the will, to push the boundaries of
our technology into the market place we would need the
expertise of others. Research after all is where our
heart is and I for one have not enjoyed the last 12
months at all, neither no doubt has my family of whom I
have seen very little. Endless travel and constant meetings has
been an annoying and unfortunate distraction, albeit a
necessary one.
We are not skilled in sales, marketing or general
management. For myself I quite happily admit that I also
lack negotiating skills and have a very short attention
span at high-level meetings. I like cards on the table,
without all the niceties that usually accompany
contracts worth several millions of pounds.
The pleasantries and socialising that go with my
position in Diobas are certainly not my strong point and
to be frank, most people would rather not socialise with
me anyway.
Why waste time jostling for position when both the
prospective client and myself know only too well where
each of us stand? All pretty pointless, as are lunch and
dinner dates. I maybe want a deal with the client but I
sure as hell don’t want to waste time or money eating
with them. No one has more loyalty to a client than
myself but I don’t want to marry them or go through the
ridiculous pretence of having a waiter pour wine into a
glass for me to sample . . . . I expect to be served
wine that’s drinkable . . . if it isn’t then don’t give
it to me.
So in order to really capitalise on every aspect of our
technology we need the help of those who have the skills
that both Diobas and myself lack. It takes time to find
the right personnel, individuals or companies, and of
course takes a great deal of money.
At Diobas we never ever compromise so the staff or
partners we need would have to be at the top of their
trade. If they were not then we would not want them.
It is certainly true that Diobas could achieve even more
if someone other than me ran the company. My dislike for
people in general and complete lack of social skills or
tolerance when it comes to the abuse of both our oceans
and the fish themselves definitely holds the company
back. If a client cannot convince me that they will not
over-exploit the fish and work within our guidelines
such as the number of kilos of fish per cubic metre then
I walk away . . . Not always good business perhaps,
particularly when it comes to dealing with large scale
producers or supermarkets who, despite their glossy
literature, Omega 3 labels ( which incidentally has
never been proven to do anything other than to sell the
product under the guise of promoting health and eternal
life to anyone stupid enough to believe it ) have no
other motive than maximising profits and to hell with
the consequences. Our
tanks and modules could easily cater for 22 kilos per
cubic metre, and maximise the profits at the expense of
fish welfare much the same as current farming practice,
but we insist on only 18 kilos per cubic metre. The fish
are stronger, have a better environment and ultimately,
when combined with sensible humane culling rather than
letting them get crushed before allowing them to flap
around for half an hour gasping for breath and then
being unceremoniously disembowelled alive, . . .
actually taste better with our system. There is still
ample profit when compared to the ludicrous practice of
sending boats out to catch a variety of species at
random, throwing back anything that Brussels say we cant
eat and then spending days or even weeks getting the
fish to market whilst burning endless gallons of fuel in
the process. How many Trawlers and lorries does it take
to get a fish on your plate when it can be grown nearby?
There is just no need to over-stock our system, but
there are many that will try through greed and
stupidity.
So, if we take option 3 we still face a mountain of
problems just finding the right people or organisations
that have the ability and skills to maximise our growth
. . . . The very skills that almost certainly would
increase our profits but, perhaps, at the expense of
Diobas and its reputation.
We could easily become another Findus, Birds Eye or
Tesco . . . How long would it be before we had our own
Omega 3 labels ?
More tomorrow.
