Lobster is not big business for the U.K. inshore fishing fleet, compared with its counterparts in Canada and North America, but it still contributes more than GBP 31 million (USD 52.6 million, EUR 38.7 million) to the economy and keeps a good many small-scale fishermen afloat.
According to Seafish, stocks of European lobster in U.K. coastal waters are currently in a satisfactory state, with stable or increasing catch rates, and no sign of imminent decline in recruitment of young lobsters into the stock.
However, there is always room for improvement, and U.K. fishermen point to the fact that demand outstrips supply, especially in December, when the market in Europe increases significantly. They also feel that greater effort could be made to sell European lobster in the U.K. retail market, instead of importing American lobster, although price is a major factor in this.
One company hoping to increase lobster landings is National Lobster Hatchery in Cornwall, whose laboratory and visitor center is adjacent to TV celebrity chef Rick Stein’s famous Seafood Restaurant. It is a pioneering marine conservation, research and education charity, whose main aim is to help conserve vulnerable lobster populations and preserve coastal marine biodiversity.
Dom Boothroyd, general manager, explained that lobster stocks in other countries are vulnerable and that both the Scandinavian and Mediterranean stocks have completely collapsed and are yet to recover.
“We have established ourselves as a center for excellence in lobster science and our research is cited all around the world. Through this we hope to develop better techniques to help re-establish lobster populations where they have declined, and to increase fisheries in areas where catches are poor,” he said. “We know we can’t feed the world, but we can make a contribution by providing a successful fisheries management tool that will help sustain the future of our seas and the coastal communities that rely on the lobster fishery for their livelihood.”
The European lobster is slow to grow and can live to more than 100 years old, without showing any signs of ageing, and still being good to eat. The hatchery has also found that older lobsters also produce more eggs than younger specimens.
Around 100 berried lobsters are brought in each year from local fishermen, wholesalers, fishmongers and even restaurants, and kept in tanks until the eggs hatch. This happens over several successive nights, with the larvae swimming away from the mother, to be collected by staff each morning. Spent lobsters are returned to the market.
If the eggs are not fully ripe, lobsters can be kept in chilled conditions to slow down development for up to a month, thereby spacing out the hatching process. This is particularly useful when the small facility is busy.
Once hatched, larvae are transferred to conical rearing tanks where they are fed on plankton, and kept for around two weeks until they reach their third moult. More than 40 percent of the lobsters survive to this stage, whereas in the wild, survival rates are thought to be less than one percent.
After their third moult, the lobsters are separated into individual rearing compartments, housed in stacking systems known as Aquahives, and move on to a powdered proprietary feed.
Seventy-five percent of the lobsters are released to the sea at stage 5, and the remainder at stage 8 or higher. Local fishermen and divers get involved at this stage, taking the animals to offshore locations around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The target for 2014 is to release 60,000 lobsters.
“One of the most important factors for the release is the topography of the seabed, as the baby lobsters need somewhere to borrow and find shelter to ensure their survival,” explained Boothroyd.
As well as undertaking research and hatching lobster for restocking, a major part of the hatchery’s remit is to educate and inform the public and it does this very successfully. Over 40,000 visitors visit the center every year to learn about the fishery and the sustainability issues it faces.
“Education is crucial if we want to create change in consumer choice,” said Boothroyd. “If we encourage people to only buy sustainably-caught seafood, then we are eliminating the demand for fishing practices that damage the marine ecosystem, giving the oceans a chance to recover.”
