Lobster Hatchery Summer Raffle

Following the success of last year, we are very fortunate to be able to offer another fantastic raffle prize. We are very grateful to Jamie & Rhowan Yoki of No. 1 Rock Road Restaurant in Rock, Cornwall who have donated our star prize:

A LUXURY WEEKEND BREAK IN ROCK FOR TWO

A 2 night luxury break in an award winning location to include breakfast, 1 round of golf at St Enodoc Golf Course (overlooking the beautiful Camel estuary), a spa treatment at the Cow Shed at the St Moritz Hotel, a 3 course meal at the new No. 1 Rock Road Restaurant with Vintage-Laurent-Perrier champagne and lunch at No. 1 Rock Road Restaurant.

Tickets are available through our ‘Little Shop of Lobsters’

A Lovely Quote from Trip Advisor

Okay, so I already had a soft spot for the humble lobster, both as an animal (with their "flippy flappy antennae") and served as a dish. This has always troubled me as I feel guilty for eating these fabulous creatures but at the same time love seafood. So, cue the National Lobster Hatchery. Pregnant mummy lobsters are brought in by fishermen and their eggs reared, and then released back into the wild. Baby lobsters are teensy, basically plankton, and everything in the sea will happily eat them. Only a tiny percent (maybe 1 in 20,000) make it to adulthood. At the hatchery, the larval stages are cared for and reared until they get to 2-3cm long. Then they are taken back to the sea and carefully released to give them the best possible chance. This raises survival rates to tens of percent. You can see the pregnant female lobsters, lobsters in their tiny larval stages up to the 2-3cm stage (all in separate little cubicles to stop them cannabilising each other) just before they are released. There is a wealth of information, some adult lobsters to oooh and ahhh at and the opportunity to sponsor a lobster for £2.50. You can pick it's name and everything (mine is called Lancelot)! You get a certificate and a fact sheet. Great for kids. It IS small, but also perfectly formed. I think that ethically it is fantastic and really genuinely deserves to be supported. An hour after my wander round the Hatchery I passed the lobster 'holding pool' for Rick Stein's lobsters, but instead of feeling just guilt, I actually felt inspired by the work done in the quayside attraction I'd just visited. I am now supporting the hatchery monthly by direct debit (in addition to my adoption) and I'll certainly be going back. The lady at the cash desk was so grateful I was signing up to give them £5/month it was actually quite touching. These people clearly really believe in what they're doing, and so do I. Brilliant.

Jo, West London 12th April 2012

To add your review on trip advisor click on this link

Extra claws for a worthy cause…

Mutant three-clawed crab is set to join Padstow’s National Lobster Hatchery.

The National Lobster Hatchery,is eagerly anticipating the arrival of a unique three-clawed crab. The remarkable crab which proudly displays an extra pair of pincers on one of its legs was hauled in by fisherman Craig Robinson, who was fishing off the coast of Swanage in Dorset. On spotting the crab’s bizarre extra claw, Craig alerted the National Lobster Hatchery who were delighted to be able to offer a home to the mutant crustacean, amongst their own display of sea creatures.

Fisherman Craig said ‘I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw three claws on the crab, especially as the extra one was on the end of an individual leg, rather than protruding from an already existing claw. What’s even more incredible is that all three claws are fully functional, so it must have a pretty good advantage over other crabs”

The three-clawed crab is currently being housed at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and will be escorted to its new home on Padstow’s South Quay, by Lobster Hatchery Trustee, Dr Grant Stentiford. Dr Stentiford is delighted with the new addition and comments “Crabs along with other crustaceans are in fact capable of re-growing limbs that have been lost or damaged, so it could be the case this crab’s regeneration mechanism has got a little confused as to what it was replacing!”

The National Lobster Hatchery’s visitor centre attracts around 40,000 visitors a year and staff believe this unusual addition will cause a real stir amongst the public, especially with all three claws in working order. The National Lobster Hatchery’s Dr Carly Daniels said: "It is certainly unusual to find crustaceans with extra claws, especially one protruding from an individual leg socket. We can't be certain as to how it came about; it could be the result of a genetic mutation or environmental factors. Either way a three-clawed crab will certainly make an eye-catching addition to the National Lobster Hatchery”

The three-clawed crab, who is a female of the edible crab species, will be arriving at the National Lobster Hatchery in April 2012, so visitors can soon view this unique creation of nature for themselves. You may have to pincer yourself to believe it though!