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| The size of a juvenile lobster at the release stage! |
This was the biggest release that has ever taken place in the Scillies and represents a significant proportion of the hatchery’s early season production.
The release by the charity was being supported by local organisations on the Isles of Scilly and in Cornwall including the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company, Hell Bay Hotel and Isles of Scilly Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IOS IFCA).
The Isles of Scilly Steamship Company provided transport on the Scillonian III for all of the baby lobsters, the releasing equipment and two members of staff from the Hatchery, the second consecutive year that they have provided complimentary travel to the islands for a lobster release.
Jeff Marston, Chief Executive of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company, said: “Supporting the local economies of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly is extremely important to us, and assisting the National Lobster Hatchery with their release is a great example of how we do this. Last year’s lobster release was a great success and we are delighted to be able to help again.”
Senior Hatchery technician Dr Carly Daniels and technician Charlie Ellis released the juvenile lobsters with the help of local dive operators Tim Allsop and Dave McBride, as well as volunteer divers from the mainland.
The National Lobster Hatchery’s General Manager Dominic Boothroyd explained: “Because the divers know the seabed so intimately they are the best people to tell us where the release spots really should be. The lobsters really need small boulders and stone, overlying silt, mud and mixed sediment in an area that is not going to be repeatedly hit by storms or be run over by trawlers. This enables them to dig a nice burrow that they can live in for the next year or two.”
The Hell Bay Hotel on Bryher assisted the Hatchery release juvenile lobsters into the waters around Bryher and Tresco last year and has once again offered to support the charity’s work. The release represents the continuation of a long-term collaboration between the hotel and the charity.
Philip Callan from the Hell Bay Hotel added: “Hell Bay Hotel is very excited to once again be be taking part in a major juvenile lobster release. Our 3-rosette restaurant is known for serving the best lobster on the islands. This project is an exciting new step towards a more sustainable future and one that the hotel and all our customers can be very proud of.”
This is the first time that the charity has released such large numbers of juveniles in the Isles of Scilly – last year they released a thousand lobsters near to Bryher in one release, but this marks a significant step forward for the Hatchery. Developments undertaken during the winter have enabled the organisation to make a major advancement this year in the way baby lobsters can be raised and the charity is now in a far better position to grow large numbers of juveniles at the facility.
Senior Technician Dr Carly Daniels said: “What we really want to get going next in the Scillies, with the help of our supporters down here, is a trial cage culture site where we can put a few hundred juveniles into sea cages and just leave them to grow for a few months, so that when released at the end of the autumn they are much bigger and stronger.”
Dominic Boothroyd added “We are really grateful to the support of all of the individuals and organisations who will be involved in this release. Not only have the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company and Hell Bay Hotel offered their support with the release again, but they have also provided us with a fantastic raffle prize of a luxury two night break on the Isles of Scilly, which we will be drawing at our autumn fundraising event”