Recent Stuff
In July a group of us went to Padstow to look at the Lobster Hatchery from a tourist point of view as
well as a business and ecology point of view.
Meeting at 10.00 in the morning on a very bright, warm and sunny day, with a group from Exeter and a
group from North Devon
As we all gathered round the entrance it didn’t look like we would all fit in the place which is set on the
quay or harbour side in Padstow, however our guide soon came and started the tour explaining how local fishermen who caught female lobsters with eggs brought them into the centre where they would be
kept till the eggs hatched.
Adult Female
After hatching the female was
then returned back to the fishermen to keep good links and
relationships as well as understanding their need to earn a
living.
Young Fry
As we went further though into the back area of
the centre we saw the hatchery where the females were kept and followed them through
into hatching, very small lobster fry and so on
till they were big enough to be released into the
wild to grow and thrive in the wild, reared lobsters are released at around 3 months old and
released around the coast of
Cornwall and the Isles of
Scilly.
Medium
The small Fry crawl away and bury
themselves in the sea bed to grow
and develop into adults.
Big Lobster
These adults will then start the cycle all
over again helping to sustain the lobster
industry in the South West through conservation, research and development.
When we had had enough of looking around at the
lobster hatchery we headed into town by the fishing docks and the fishing fleet.
It was very busy with visitors enjoying the place
and the hot sun, we decided to have a nice Cornish Pasty and a sit on the dock to relax and enjoy
the scenery followed by a nice ice cream and a
stroll back before departing for the journey home.
The general feeling was that this was a good day
out and the hatchery was a worthwhile place to
help sustain the many jobs in the lobster industry.
14.