Whitby Lobster Hatchery plea for people to sponsor a juvenile lobster

Each juvenile lobster sponsored will help to contribute to the costs of rearing and releasing juvenile lobsters including feeding, water quality maintenance and release.

The Pier Road-based hatchery has ambitious aims to release 100,000 juvenile lobster every year to support the wild populations and ensure the longevity of local fishing fleets.

The natural cycle of juvenile lobster is from April to October, so spring 2023 will be a busy time for the hatchery.

The hatchery they released more than 400 juveniles at Boggle Hole, near Robin Hood’s Bay, with help from fisherman George Lamplough.

Overall, they have released nearly 1,000 this season, so they will need quite a step up to achieve their target.

A sophisticated new hatchery system has been installed at the hatchey, which it hopes will provide additional capacity to rear the juvenile lobsters.

Joe Redfern, hatchery manager, said: “The past 12 months have been an extremely concerning time of the fishers along our North East coastline.

"Besieged by wave after wave of dead and dying crustaceans, their catches plummeted, leading to some [fishermen] already having to sell their boats.

"The cause is continuing to be investigated by the Government and regional universities, however chemical pollution seems like a large contributing factor.”

The hatchery is working closely with the universities to ensure the environment is safe for everyone, including their newly reared juvenile lobsters.

Visit www.whitbylobsterhatchery.co.uk and sponsor if you’d like to sponsor a lobster.