Sea based lobster trial gets £3m go-ahead

THE National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, Cornwall, has been awarded £3 million to develop the technology and science for growing lobsters at sea.

The three-year project, known as Lobster Grower 2, will focus on the European lobster and is funded by Innovate UK and BBSRC.

Other partners include the University of Exeter, Westcountry Mussels of Fowey, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and Falmouth University.

The lead researcher for the National Lobster Hatchery, Dr Carly Daniels, said: ‘This is the biggest lobster aquaculture research project taking place in Europe at the moment and it’s fantastic that it’s happening here in Cornwall, where it will generate scientific jobs and intellectual capital.

‘Europe is rapidly falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to growing its own seafood and this project is vital in addressing that imbalance.

‘A key component is that lobsters will be grown in systems with no artificial feed inputs. This means that some of the broader sustainability issues sometimes associated with aquaculture do not apply.

‘In a nutshell, we are assessing whether it is possible to grow one of the most valuable species of seafood in the UK, using similar approaches to those used to grow low value species in passive, environmentally friendly systems.’

The project will use a sea-based container culture approach (SBCC) specifically developed for the species to assess performance and develop holistic application of the systems.

Dom Boothroyd, general manager of the National Lobster Hatchery, said: ‘This project represents a huge step forward for the charity. It will test and develop the technology needed to grow lobsters to a greater age before releasing them into the sea to enhance wild stocks.’