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VACANCY – Volunteer Co-ordinator (part time) 2 days a week

2012-01-05T05:51:00.001-08:00

for the National Lobster Hatchery, Padstow, Cornwall. One year fixed term contract

£17K per annum (pro rata)

Aim:

To further develop the National Lobster Hatchery volunteering scheme

The Organisation:

The National Lobster Hatchery can be found on the docks of picturesque Cornish fishing village of Padstow. The charity aims to promote sustainability issues in coastal fisheries through programmes of stock enhancement, research and education; supported by the visitor centre, corporate sponsorship grants and donations.

Objectives:

· Further develop the volunteering infrastructure at the charity

Manage the project in order to meet set targets and objectives
Work alongside the manager to recruit an appropriate team of volunteers
Work with key members of staff to ensure that volunteers are appropriately trained
Supervising and mentoring of volunteers
Co-ordinating of volunteer activities

Nature of work undertaken:

The successful applicant will be involved in a varied role, focused mainly on “growing” our volunteering programme, developing the volunteering infrastructure and providing training and mentoring opportunities for our volunteers

Required Personal skills and qualifications:

Essential Requirements:

Desirable Requirements:

· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

· An understanding of fisheries and marine conservation issues with a degree in marine biology or equivalent.

· Training and mentoring skills.

· Accuracy and attention to detail.

· Full clean driving license.

· Experience in Hatchery operations.

· Experience in retail.

Duration of the project: A 12 month fixed term position.

For further information and to apply: Please send a CV and formal covering letter outlining why you feel you are suitable for the role to: The General Manager, National Lobster Hatchery, South Quay, Padstow, Cornwall, PL28 8BL

Closing date for applications: 27th February 2012. Interviews to be held March 2012

VACANCY – Fundraising Officer (part time 3 days a week)

2012-01-05T05:46:00.001-08:00

for the National Lobster Hatchery, Padstow, Cornwall

One year fixed term contract £17k per annum (pro rata)

Aim:

To further develop the fundraising capability of the NLH. Building upon existing revenue streams, the project would specifically seek to raise revenue for the charities on-going work and further develop the specific fundraising capability. All funds raised through this project will contribute towards the NLH’s charitable outputs.

The Organisation:

Objectives:

Raise restricted and unrestricted funds for the charities work from foundations and charitable trusts.
A promotion and further development of the NLH’s Hospitality gifting scheme.
Further development of the charity’s Corporate Membership scheme.

Nature of work undertaken:

The successful applicant will be involved in a varied role, focused mainly on improving the current income generating mechanisms for the charity. Reporting to the NLH General Manager the successful candidate will have access to Business development mentor (the business development manager for the Eden Project).

Required Personal skills and qualifications:

Essential Requirements:

Desirable Requirements:

· Fundraising experience.

· A good understanding of business and finance pertaining to charities.

· Excellent communication skills.

· Sales and negotiation skills.

· Accuracy and attention to detail.

· Full clean driving license.

· Experience of marketing, business development and fundraising.

· An understanding of fisheries and marine conservation issues.

· Degree level qualification in Marketing or Business related subject.

Duration of the project: A 12 month fixed term position with the potential for extending dependant on performance.

For further information and to apply:

Please send a C.V and formal covering letter outlining why you feel you are suitable for the role to: he General Manager, National Lobster Hatchery, South Quay, Padstow, Cornwall, PL28 8BL

Closing date for applications: 27th February 2012. Interviews to be held March 2012

Three Men in More Than One Boat

2011-11-15T01:45:00.001-08:00

Do you recognise these characters? We had the pleasure of meeting Dara O’Briain, Griff Rhys Jones and Rory McGrath when they came to film for the Three Men in More Than One Boat series. Having taken the photos I couldn’t find where I’d saved them anyway but have since found them, so it’s three years late but well worth publishing. It’s not often you see a picture of Griff and Dara trying to move juvenile lobsters with a holey bent tea spoon! We’re very technical here at the hatchery or genius?

It’s amazing to meet people like this, not only because you feel you’ve grown up with them in your front room but they were highly amusing and incredibly sharp and quick with their humour.

It was a brilliant series and having come to film at the hatchery and help us out, they ended up taking a tray of our baby lobsters to do a release in the Isles of Scilly.

Autumn Watch 11th Nov 2011

2011-11-14T04:09:00.001-08:00

It was nice to have the Autumn Watch film crew with us last week with presenter Martin Hughes-Games. We were very lucky to have a berried hen (an egg bearing female lobster) delivered to us the week before, probably the last for the season so we had a beautiful mother lobster to show for Friday’s Autumn Watch.

It really is a wonder of nature when you turn a lobster over to see 3,000 to 20,000 eggs attached to her pleopods. I think really, they should come back with Spring Watch when the hatchery is a hive of activity.

We gave Martin one of our Santa CLAWS fluffy lobster to hold for the photo that are now available on our on-line shop with their very own handmade Santa hat’s. http://www.nationallobsterhatchery.co.uk/shop/

Christmas Present List SORTED and all for charity

2011-11-08T03:54:00.001-08:00

Unique lobster charity Christmas cards

(designed by pupils of Padstow Primary School)

Grandma – Lobster Hatchery hamper with

Cornish fudge, biscuits and Cornish sea salt

Grandpa – The Secret Life of Lobsters Book

‘How fishermen and scientists are unravelling

the mysteries of our favourite crustacean’.

Or our ‘His & Hers’ Adopt a Lobster – name a lobster after Grandma and Grandpa and we will release 2 lobsters back into the wild together.

Mum – beautiful Lobster life-cycle T-Towel or stylish Jute bag

Dad – Lobster Hatchery mug & key ring

For the teenage girls – check out our collection of Sea Gem silver jewellery, designed in Cornwall

For the teenage boys - Lobster Hatchery t-shirt

For the boys – a woodcraft construction kit or bath squirt puffer fish (that has a 3 metre firing range!) – watch out at bath time

For the girls – our lovely children’s book about a Padstow lobster called Claude & his 4,000 brothers & sisters

For the babies – it’s got to be a fluffy lobster

Adopt a Lobster Wedding Favours

2011-11-01T08:56:00.001-07:00

It’s the year of the Adopt a Lobster Wedding Favours. Last year we launched our Adopt a Lobster scheme as ethical and fun wedding favours, particularly for those that are taking a more eco-friendly approach to their special day. We have had a really good uptake and in recent months we have had 2 lobster themed weddings believe it or not! Check out these beautiful cake decorations that sat on Phil & Ally Whitehead’s cake.

The idea is that you can adopt a lobster for each of your guests and you get to name a lobster after each guest, which can be quite amusing if there are some old nick names. We had one wedding party with some very amusing lobster names; Thirty & Flirty, Pontypandy, Baby Machine, Marathon Man and Half Marathon Man, Denis the Menace, Pasty Crimper, Desperate Dan (just to name a few). You can imagine the noises when the wedding party sat down to eat and opened up their certificate!

This photo was taken at another wedding by photographer Ed Smith and they rolled the adopt a lobster certificates like a scroll with ribbon. They look really nice, I like the brown ribbon.

I had a call this morning from a couple that are coming back to Cornwall to get married next year. They are both working in the Caribbean on dive boats. Their table decorations are going to be lobster pots with flowers sticking out of them! I think our Adopt a Lobster wedding favours will be the perfect finishing touch!

Many couples come to the South West so that they can get married by the sea and have their wedding photographs taken on the beach and our wedding favours complement their special day. The couple can feel happy that their money is going to a good cause, staying within the county and their adopted baby lobsters will be released back into the sea around the coast of Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly.

For more information about our wedding favours contact us on sales@nationallobsterhatchery.co.uk

Happy customers

2011-11-01T08:09:00.001-07:00

Thought I’d share an email we received:

“We just wanted to let you know, that we thoroughly enjoyed our visit today. It was heart-warming and incredibly informative. In fact we came home and looked at your website and u-tube films.

We are regular visitors to Hartland in Devon and decided today to visit Padstow, mainly to eat great Rick Stein food!

Ashamedly we didn't even know of your existence, but whilst parking, our 3 year old son saw your signs and was insistent that we visited. We're so glad we did - we were overwhelmed. Seeing the baby lobsters was a profoundly moving and quite an extraordinary experience, they are all so utterly individual and beautiful.

Thank you so much for such a lovely time.

Good luck for the future and keep up your fabulous work, we hope to come and see you again soon.”

Monty Halls supports lobster hatchery at fundraising event

2011-10-18T04:42:00.001-07:00

Friends and supporters of the National Lobster Hatchery were treated to an after-dinner speech from acclaimed media personality Monty Halls at the fabulous new No. 1 Rock Road Restaurant, with its stunning views across the Camel Estuary in Rock. The fundraising event, held on Friday 14^th of October, included a prize draw to determine the winner of a luxury two-night break on the Isles of Scilly, with flights courtesy of Skybus and accommodation provided by the beautiful Hell Bay Hotel on the island of Bryher, Isles of Scilly.

As if that and a fine two course meal wasn’t enough to keep guests entertained, those in attendance had the chance to meet guest speaker Monty Halls. Alongside his work as a marine biologist, writer and explorer, Monty presents his own TV series on BBC2, ‘Monty Halls Great Escapes’. Monty is currently filming in Cornwall for a new series that will be out in the Spring 2012 called The Big Catch, which will profile Monty living the life of a Cornish fisherman. Monty has an intimate knowledge of the importance of marine resource management and conservation, and was first approached to speak at the dinner by Hatchery General Manager Dom Boothroyd; while the pair released 1,600 juvenile lobsters together from a fishing vessel off the Lizard Peninsula!

Mr Boothroyd, speaking ahead of the fundraising evening, said, “2011 has been our charity’s most successful year ever; we’ve already released over 32,000 juvenile lobsters around Cornwall. Friday’s dinner is about celebrating that achievement and raising funds to help us continue our positive contribution to the sustainability of the Cornish lobster fishery. We’re hugely thankful to No.1 Rock Road for hosting us and to Skybus and the Hell Bay Hotel for their generosity in donating such a fantastic raffle prize, and I’m delighted that Monty Halls is taking valuable time out of his hectic schedule to come and support us.”

No.1 Rock Road opened earlier this year, and Ryan Wood, a Chef at the restaurant, said, “We’re proud to support a number of local charities, especially those that benefit the fishing community, and the National Lobster Hatchery does that. We always look to serve local, sustainably sourced seafood where possible, and for every half-lobster we sell here, we encourage the customer to make a £1 donation to the Hatchery, which we then match to cover the cost of a juvenile lobster being released back into Cornish waters.”

No. 1 Rock Road Restaurant sponsor hatchery

2011-09-20T04:38:00.001-07:00

No. 1 Rock Road Restaurant has signed up to support the hatchery. Every lobster served at No. 1 Rock Road (with the customers help) will pay for the release of a baby lobster to help conserve stocks. For every £1 donated by a customer, No. 1 Rock Road will match their donation!

Of course, customers can opt out if they wish. Check out their view and menus www.no1rockroad.co.uk

Clovelly Lobster & Crab Feast

2011-09-12T01:00:00.001-07:00

A massive thank you to Clovelly Estate for their £400 donation from the Lobster & Crab Feast on the 4th September 2011. We have been their chosen beneficiary for the last 3 years and this year was the best ever. The weather was on our side (well until 2.30pm) and visitors turned up in their droves.

We had a lot of interest in our baby lobsters and a lot of returning customers who came to adopt another lobster.

With the help of John Balls and his fishing boat, we released another 1,349 baby lobsters 1/4 mile up the coastline, onto perfect lobster ground.

A beautiful location! Our day started at 6am when we loaded the lobsters up at the hatchery and this photo was taken very early in the morning before the event got underway.

All the stalls run along the harbour wall. I should have taken a photo when it was full (but we were too busy!). That’s a good sign.

http://www.clovelly.co.uk/

ART EXHIBITION at the hatchery

2011-08-09T08:45:00.001-07:00

For the next two weeks two of North Cornwall’s best and most respected artists will be exhibiting their work at the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow. Both artists live and work on the North Cornish coast and have a close affinity with the sea. The exhibition is an opportunity for visiting members of the public to come and see some amazing marine related art.

The two artists are Martiens Bekker and Caroline Cleave; Caroline has lived in Port Isaac, Cornwall for over twenty years and is passionate about design and draws her inspiration from the grand coastline and the intimate detail of the countryside on the North Cornish coast. Having a degree in art and having taught and been regularly involved with Cornish Festivals, she brings this experience to the pieces she creates. Her love of textiles, colour and scale are a constant feature and her larger works are permanently exhibited at the Eden Project. She is also regularly commissioned to illustrate and her detailed designs have been recently used by the Lobster Hatchery in their new children’s book `Claude gets his Claws` which is available in the gift shop.

Her work is created in her studio which is located in her tranquil valley garden in the village and sold through the `BOATHOUSE` which is the business she shares with her husband Jon Cleave . The Boathouse lies in the heart of Port Isaac and sells an eclectic mix of Coastal Cornish living.

Sculptor, Martiens Bekker creates his art using discarded and unwanted materials salvaged from across Cornwall, sifting through the swathes of society’s detritus he identifies ‘rubbish’ condemned before its time and resurrects it for a second chance. His work is inspired by the natural beauty of Cornwall and his native South Africa, by the wonder and confusion of human nature and of course by the scrap itself which typically dictates its own regeneration. Martiens endeavours to demonstrate through his work that our throw away culture, whilst keeping him employed, has brought us to the brink of catastrophe, and that only through a sincere and considered appreciation of our magnificent planet and all it provides can we ever hope to save it. We once valued the world beyond its worth and Martiens hopes his art will play a small role in the realisation that things must change.

Funds raised by any sales from the exhibition will include a donation towards the National Lobster Hatcheries charitable conservation, education and research work.

The exhibition will be held in the Kemp Room (named after former Padstow Mayor: Sid Kemp) The exhibition will run from Saturday the 6^th August until Sunday 21^st August and entry to the exhibition is free.

The National Lobster Hatchery’s General Manager Dominic Boothroyd explained: “This is the first time that we have held an exhibition at the centre and it is brilliant that two such amazingly talented artists want to exhibit here. It is even better that they want to donate some of the proceeds to our on-going charitable work.”

3,156 baby lobsters released on the Isles of Scilly

2011-07-06T08:22:00.001-07:00

Fol lowing the success of last years’ release of 1,000 lobsters between Bryher and Tresco we jumped at the chance of doing another release; only this time, our biggest release on record with 3,156 beautiful little lobsters. The interesting thing is that these baby lobsters have spent the last few months growing in our new Aquahive (our state-of-the-art lobster housing) and the colouration and vigour of these lobsters was really striking.

At 5.30 this morning, the lobsters were packed up (still in their individual cells so they don’t eat each other!) and transported to Penzance; loaded onto the Scillonian and shipped across to the Isles of Scilly. Steve Watt, the Maritime Officer for the Isles of Scilly Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority (IFCA) met Charlie, Carly and the lobsters to take them over to meet the divers. Dave McBride and Tim Alsop organised the dive for us and delivered the lobsters by hand to the seabed on the east side of St Mary’s.

I have just spoken with Carly and she says the release was very successful; it’s just the team that were recovering from hyperthermia, the early start, the radio interviews and TV appearances!

Thank you once again to the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company and Hell Bay Hotel who have sponsored the release and helped organise the trip. They have also offered a raffle prize for our summer raffle of

A LUXURY TWO NIGHT BREAK ON THE ISLES OF SCILLY FOR TWO ADULTS

WITH SKYBUS FLIGHTS FROM EITHER LANDS END OR NEWQUAY AIRPORTS

STAYING FOR TWO NIGHTS DINNER BED & BREAKFAST

AT THE MAGNIFICENT HELL BAY HOTEL, BRYER, ISLES OF SCILLY

You can purchase raffle tickets over the phone on 01841 533877

Stained glass lobster window proudly in place

2011-07-05T02:30:00.000-07:00

Our beautiful stained glass window is proudly in place now, in memory of the late Dr Eric Edwards, a long standing Trustee of the Lobster Hatchery. Eric's career as a fisheries scientist span over 50 years and included employment with the Ministry of Fisheries as a Principal Scientific Officer, then Director of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain for 18 years, to working part-time as the Fisheries Consultant to the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers in the City of London. He was a visiting Professor in Fisheries & Aquaculture at Queen's University, Belfast (2002-2005) and Vice President of the Shellfish Association.

Following the official naming of the 'Eric Edwards Room' here at the Hatchery, Gaynor Edwards (his daughter) decided to create this stained glass window to hang in the window. I'm told window stickers of the design are being printed as we speak which Gaynor wishes to donate to the hatchery in order to raise funds towards our marine conservation work. When they arrive they will be available through our on-line shop.

To see Gaynor's other pieces of art you can check out her facebook account on http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spiral-House-Design/133929156685786

Baby lobsters galore and record releases

2011-06-29T07:15:00.001-07:00

Another 10,000 larvae hatched last night. We have released 7,400 juvenile lobsters to date. We’re releasing another 1,500 tomorrow and 3,000 next week at the Isles of Scilly! How good is that! These baby lobsters were born last night (photo on left), I asked them to stop moving for the photo shoot but they weren’t having any of it!

The photo on the right is what they look like close up.

Customer Feedback

2011-06-14T01:23:00.001-07:00

I’ve just emptied the customer feedback box and thought I would share some of the lovely comments people have made. I can honestly say there was only one negative feedback form in a pile of 40 and it sounds like he came in when we were renovating a couple of the tanks – so apologies for that. So these are some of the things people have said:

A little gem of a place!

My son is lobster crazy and this place made him explode with excitement.

Absolutely loved it, will definitely be back.

Loving the lobsters.

So cool!

Wonderful to find out that local fishermen work alongside the scheme.

Being an ex-crawfish diver, in 60’s, 70’s & 80’s, its nice to see you sustaining.

My 7 year old daughter loved it. Its a shame it can’t be bigger. You should ask for funding to make it bigger, it is fab. (We’re working on it!)

Very interesting and informative. Good to see you support and promote your fishermen and sustainable fishing – WELL DONE!

This was a great visit especially for our 6 year old daughter who loved it and now understands about sustainability.

Having completed the developments over the winter we are really pleased with the visitor centre. Over the last 5 years we have really maximised the potential of the space we have down there and it works better than ever.

Cage Culture Research Project underway

2011-05-17T07:26:00.001-07:00

Emily Miles, from the University of Exeter, has started preparations for her Masters Project looking at cage culture for juvenile lobsters. This involves growing the lobsters from stage IV onwards in submerged cages in the sea as opposed to in the hatchery. Once in the water, they will be self-sufficient feeding from the biofouling on the cages, requiring no maintenance/cleaning of the cages and will be better equipped to deal with the environment once they are released.

The post-larval lobsters are currently growing in the hatchery and will undergo an intermediate phase to acclimatise them to lower sea water temperatures. The cages are already in place at two sites in the Fal estuary and at sea, fouling up (this means the cages will start to get encrusted with algae, barnacles and other organisms that will provide a source of food for the lobsters) before the lobsters are put into individual compartments to prevent them fighting.

This project is going to be really important for us at the hatchery, because the lobsters that are grown on in the sea cages will be compared in terms of diet, health, growth and survival rates, to the control lobsters that will remain in the hatchery for the same period of time and fed by us. If the cage culture is successful it could be the way forward for us long term and it would mean that we could grow on lobsters up to a year old thus to a more suitable release size for little economic and maintenance costs, compared to 3 months old that we tend to release at now.

THE BIG SWIM CORNWALL 7th AUGUST 2011

2011-05-10T07:22:00.001-07:00

Registration is open for this lovely event, if you fancy the challenge of a one mile wild swim from Port Gaverne to Port Isaac. Make a day of it, there’ll be plenty of entertainment, live music, food to sample and pubs at hand following the swim.

The official website is www.thebigswimcornwall.co.uk and you can register and pay on-line through our website Little Shop of Lobsters

See you there, fingers crossed for perfect weather conditions!

Latest research on shelter preference in juvenile lobsters

2011-05-10T04:29:00.001-07:00

Alex Ferguson from University of Exeter, from the Conservation and Bio-diversity Masters Degree and Dan Brewer, from Cornwall College, from the Marine Aquaculture Foundation Degree are embarking on a joint project to look at shelter preference in juvenile lobsters. Trials are underway and the baby lobsters are settling into their preferred shelter. Alex and Dan have set up three different shelters, using scallop shells, pebbles and 20mm sections of pipe.

The pebbles are looking more popular at the moment!

Bivalve Purification Operations Seafish/REHIS approved course

2011-04-05T02:55:00.001-07:00

For all bivalve purification and dispatch centres in the UK
• Designed to meet the needs of the live bivalve mollusc sector
• An essential step towards producing Safer Seafood
• An excellent course for both new starters and experienced staff and managers
• Delivered by approved and experienced trainers
• Nationally recognised
• 4+ hr taught theory course
• Seafish funding support may be available

There are two training centres that are approved to deliver this training course.
• The Scottish Shellfish Training Centre;
• The Southern Shellfish Training Centre, venue National Lobster Hatchery

Posters attached for full details

Launch of IFCA, Cornwall’s Inshore Fisheries & Conservation Authority

2011-04-05T02:18:00.001-07:00

Cornwall IFCA is responsible for marine fisheries and environmental management in our inshore waters and estuaries. It was established on 1 April 2011 as a result of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. The Authority has taken over the duties, responsibilities and assets of Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee, together with a broader remit for the sustainable management of the inshore marine environment.

Cornwall IFCA will lead, champion and manage a sustainable marine environment and inshore fisheries. It will do this by successfully securing the right balance between environmental and economic benefits to ensure healthy seas, sustainable fisheries and a viable future.

For more information check out their new website that has just gone live this week.

www.cornwall-ifca.gov.uk

Lobster Mothering Sunday …..

2011-03-01T04:42:00.001-08:00

Bring your mum along for FREE to the National Lobster Hatchery on Mothering Sunday and see our mummy lobsters in their new maternity ward. By then, lobsters should be hatching on a daily occurrence ….

and if you’ve forgotten to buy her flowers and chocolates, we’ve got some lovely Cornish fudge or other lovely gifts in our shop.

MUMS GO FREE ON SATURDAY 2ND & SUNDAY 3RD APRIL 2011

Testing the new National Lobster Hatchery ad…

2011-02-28T07:12:00.001-08:00

Thought we should do a little dry run with the new ad for the National Lobster Hatchery…

Volunteering at the Hatchery

2011-02-22T04:54:00.001-08:00

It’s Anthony’s last day with us today who has been volunteering at the hatchery. He leaves us for a new post on Bryher on the Isles of Scilly – can’t be bad!

Wendy has been volunteering with us for nearly a year now, giving up one day a week to help us out in the office. She calls us her ‘lobster luvvies’ so I think that can only be a compliment.

We are very lucky to have the help from lots of volunteers and for many, it seems to help them secure permanent posts elsewhere. Amazingly, one of our volunteers is the longest standing member of staff here.

Wild Swim from Port Gaverne to Port Isaac

2011-02-21T06:54:00.001-08:00

Put the date in your diary and plan your holiday to Cornwall for that week. This years wild swim from Port Gaverne to Port Isaac will be held on 7th August 2011, raising money for the National Lobster Hatchery.

The event started last year and was such a success, organisers have decided to make it an annual event; only this year it’ll be bigger and better.

The actual swim is said to be 1 mile, round a beautiful bit of coastline, ending up at Port Isaac (a very quaint little Cornish harbour). The Fisherman’s Friends are rumoured to be performing on stage, we will have our baby lobsters on display and there will be stalls and food to hand. Not to mention the scattering of pubs next to the beach.

The official event website will be going live very soon so I will keep you informed. I might even dig out a photo of Dom and I having completed the swim last year!

The new broodtank arrives

2011-02-14T07:11:00.001-08:00

We had thought about the dimensions and whether we could fit it through the door, honestly!! But to be fair it would have been difficult to get round corners, so our lovely kindly neighbours agreed to crane it into the back door, at low tide from the slipway.

The white side that you can see is the acrylic window so that visitors can see into the lobster maternity ward.

Dramatic changes ……..

2011-01-31T02:42:00.001-08:00

The shop facelift is starting to shape up. What a transformation.... on the left is the old shelving. The story goes, that when these shelves were built they were trying to come up with inspiration for the shape and decided to draw round Lucille's pregnant belly - hence the curvy shelf. Sorry Lucille....

Having lost half our retail display space, with the new viewing area into the hatchery, we had to come up with a new design for our shop area. As you can see it looks fantastic already and I think we have got even more space than before. Painting and LED lights are in progress this morning.

We are also preparing another space for a new education display. Work will start on that this afternoon.

The builders are in

2011-01-21T06:16:00.001-08:00

I’ve only been out of the office for two days and already it looks fantastic. The 2m x 2m viewing area is going to make a dramatic difference to the visitor centre.

On the right hand side you can see the low wall for our new brood tank which will have an acrylic window, allowing you to see the mummy lobsters in their caves and hopefully the eggs on their underside.

Thought you might like to see a photo of all the rubble and it even captures the amount of dust in the air.

Thanks to Save our Seas Foundation who have funded these developments.

Building works start tomorrow…..

2011-01-18T06:23:00.001-08:00

View from the Visitor Centre View from within the Hatchery

We’re busy preparing for the big knock through tomorrow, from the Visitor Centre into the Hatchery. The idea is to give the visitor a more ‘up close and personal’ experience with the baby lobsters.

The viewing area will allow you to look directly into the holding trays where the juvenile lobsters are grown on. We are also expecting a new broodstock tank for our maternity ward, which will have an acrylic side panel, allowing you to see the eggs on the underside of our mummy lobsters.

The visitor centre should only be closed for one day (19th January 2011), while they knock through the hole and after that, we can remain open while the rest of the work is completed. Watch this space……..

Padstow Christmas Festival this weekend

2010-11-29T05:55:00.001-08:00

Padstow Christmas Festival is approaching 3rd, 4th & 5th December and we are promised a SNOWFALL SURPRISE this year - intrigued? Although at this rate we’ll have real snow! Get in the festive mood with late night shopping, Santa's grotto, carol singing, beer festival, live music, cooking demonstrations, fireworks, parade, workshops for children and don't forget to come and see us!

FREE CHILD ADMISSION at the Hatchery with every full paying adult for the 3 days of the Festival.

Future Jobs Fund success

2010-11-23T04:10:00.001-08:00

Matt Lumb, joined the hatchery in July as a result of our successful bid to the Future Jobs Fund. Matt’s position of Junior Hatchery Technician is a fully funded post for six months, giving him the opportunity to learn new skills and a step onto the employment ladder.

Matt has already proved a valuable member of the team and we are hoping to secure funding elsewhere in order to keep him and his new found ‘lobster skills’ on board.

Thermidor, our long standing resident orange lobster is released back into the ocean

2010-11-09T01:07:00.001-08:00

An exceptionally rare orange lobster has been returned to the ocean by Padstow fisherman and hatchery supporter Mr David Evans. The adult hen lobster, whose shell was bright orange (due to a genetically inherited pigmentation), was nicknamed ‘Thermidor’ by staff who thought her colouration looked more like that of a cooked lobster. The feisty female has spent her last 2 years on display in the aquarium section of the hatchery’s visitor centre.

Hatchery technician Charlie Ellis said, “we like to rotate our display animals when we can so they don’t get too used to a small territory and a hearty diet of mussels and fish, and Thermidor is our longest serving display animal. David is due to be releasing some of our hatchery-reared juveniles into the wild soon, and he’s agreed to take Thermidor out at the same time. She’s also now matured to the age where she’s ready to start breeding; this year she laid thousands of eggs but had no male around to fertilise them, so it’ll be interesting to see in the future, if she is caught pregnant, whether the next generation of lobsters we raise here at the Hatchery will be orange!”.

Replacing Thermidor in the visitor centre is a crawfish, or Spiny Lobster, a locally rare species with enormous antennae and a spikey armoured shell, who is settling nicely into her new home.

Winner of our star raffle prize

2010-10-12T02:24:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Hazel Thwaites from Surrey who won the amazing raffle prize of 2 nights dinner, bed and breakfast and flights to the Isles of Scilly, staying at the luxurious Hell Bay Hotel. Thank you to the sponsors of the raffle, Hell Bay Hotel and Isles of Scilly Travel. We were able to raise £1,500 from raffle sales.

The raffle was drawn at our Race Night at The Old Custom House in Padstow, thank you to Linda who let us take over the pub. We had a really fun evening and some of the luckier people went home with winnings, others, like myself bet on all the losing horses! We did another raffle on the night with all the the losing tickets from the races because Bedruthan Steps Hotel had heard about our fundraising evening and sent us a beautiful package for a spa day for 2. Sue Gregory was the lucky winner.

Thank you also to The Metropole Hotel who sponsored a race.

Eddie Gilbert’s to sponsor lobster release for British Food Fortnight

2010-09-13T02:42:00.001-07:00

Ramsgate’s award-winning Eddie Gilbert’s restaurant is celebrating British Food Fortnight (18^th September to 3^rd October) by sponsoring The National Lobster Hatchery.

Each time customers order Eddie Gilbert’s seafood platter, the restaurant will donate £1 to the Hatchery. The platter, which costs £36, for two, includes a whole lobster, a dressed crab, smoked salmon, oysters, crevettes, cockles, ceviche of scallop and brown shrimps.

“We have always been focused on sourcing the freshest, highest quality seafood, sourced as locally as possible – we don’t sell exotic endangered species like blue fin tuna,” said proprietor Jonny Dunhill, who also owns the wet fish shop and gourmet fish and chips takeaway that operate at street level beneath the first floor restaurant. “It’s in the businesses’ long-term interests to promote sustainable fishing.”

Check out their sample menus - the food looks fantastic!

Another date for your diary - Clovelly Lobster & Crab Feast

2010-07-30T04:04:00.001-07:00

Sunday 5th September 2010 10am to 5pm at Clovelly Harbour, North Devon – Clovelly is a must see on its own merit, a hidden treasure.

Clovelly Estate holds a festival each year to pay tribute to Clovelly's famous lobsters and crabs with a day of live folk music, a lobster hypnotist, quay kitchen, wine and beer tasting, local food stalls, prize draw, arts and crafts stalls, live exhibits, photographic exhibition and entertainment for the children too.

Last year and this year, the money raised will be donated to the National Lobster Hatchery. We will will be releasing baby lobsters just beyond the harbour and we will have a stand on the quay where you can come and see our baby lobsters up close and personal, adopt your own lobster or buy some lobster goodies.

The Red Lion Harbour bar will be offering delicious seafood, crab and lobster platters, each with a complimentary glass of champagne, for £14.95.

See you there!

Clovelly Harbour, North Devon

RACE NIGHT AT OLD CUSTOM HOUSE, PADSTOW

2010-07-23T07:44:00.001-07:00

We’re organising another fund raising event with a difference. Do you fancy your luck on the races? The event will take place at the Old Custom House in Padstow on Friday 8th October 2010 from 8pm onwards. We will be hosting an entertaining evening of horse racing, you will be able to bet on choosing the winning horse for each race.

Entry is free, you don’t need to book. Just come along, support our baby lobsters, have fun and go home with your winnings.

We will also be having another raffle but this time there is only one prize and it’s sensational! Imagine yourself and someone special to you, flying over to the Isles of Scilly and staying for two luxurious nights at the exclusive Hell Bay Hotel on Bryher. Tickets are on sale now for the raffle, so please phone us on 01841 533877 and we can take your payment over the phone. Tickets cost £1 each.

We are also offering businesses the chance to sponsor a race, there will only be 8 races so don’t delay. For £30, a race will be named after your business, so for instance ‘the Padstow Bakery Derby’ and the business names will appear on the race card.

Thank you to the sponsors of the event: The Old Custom House, Hell Bay Hotel, Isles of Scilly Travel.

Lobsters find their feet at the Isles of Scilly

2010-07-19T04:15:00.001-07:00

On the 9th July the Lobster Hatchery took 1000 baby lobsters over to the Isles of Scilly to be released back into the wild. The release was made possible with the support from the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company who gave us a free crossing for the lobsters, staff and equipment and also to the Hell Bay Hotel who laid on the accommodation, boats and local knowledge to be able to release onto perfect lobster ground.

We were up with the sunrise at 4am and on a tight schedule. Westcountry ITV News joined us at 5am to film us packing up the last few lobsters at the hatchery and then followed us to Penzance where our lobsters were craned on to the Scillonian.

In between coffee and bacon rolls on the Quay, we had photographers from the press and a live interview for Radio Cornwall. On arrival Henry, Tresco Harbour Master, Philip Callan, General Manager of Hell Bay Hotel and our pristine boats awaited us and the lobsters were loaded straight on board. We were off out to Bryher to bid our lobsters farewell.

As we drifted slowly along the channel between Bryher and Tresco the baby lobsters were poured into a box on the boat where sea water was pumped directly out of the sea into our release box at one end and out down a wide necked tube the other end, directly to the seabed. Lobsters at this stage in their life cycle bury under the gravel for two years and they are very rarely seen in the wild during this time, by people, but most importantly predators.

Everybody on board took pleasure in putting lobsters back into the sea, Alistair the Chef and Philip, General Manager of Hell Bay Hotel, the camera crew, Henry, the Harbour Master and Tristan Dorrien-Smith. Later that evening, we met a couple who had been watching us from the shore and they said ‘they couldn’t understand what was going on, it seemed we were putting things back into the sea, as opposed to taking things out?’ – it does feel good.

Philip Callan, Hell Bay Hotel is really keen on getting involved with the work of the Lobster Hatchery and we hope this is just the beginning of a long term partnership. Although we have released lobsters on the Isles of Scilly in the past, we have never released so many in one trip and we would like to think that that we can make it an annual event.

JOB VACANCY FOR VISITOR CENTRE ASSISTANT

2010-07-15T03:01:00.001-07:00

We are looking for a part time Visitor Centre Assistant for the summer, 2pm – 8pm Saturday’s & Sunday’s to start immediately. Minimum wage. Please contact Dom Boothroyd, General Manager on 01841 533877. Thank you

Fishermans Friends

2010-06-23T08:20:00.001-07:00

Just to say we raised £450.32 on the night, so thank you to the Fishermans Friends of Port Isaac who sang in aid of the hatchery and our baby lobsters. It was a brilliant night, great singing, the sun shone and the sunset finished off a perfect evening.

LATEST RELEASES

2010-06-23T08:12:00.001-07:00

It’s been a long wait and I can only apologise for those that have been waiting for a long time for their adopted lobster to be released, but the hatchery is swarming with baby lobsters now. In fact, this morning we had to do an emergency release to allow space for the younger lobsters coming through. With the cold winter, we were not getting in berried hens (female lobsters with eggs) until March and they have not hatched as early as the last few years either (again due to the cold temperatures).

877 were released at the beginning of June at Harlyn by the Harlyn and Bristol Dive Club

40 were released at Trevose Head, 40 at Mylor, and this morning, 150 at Mother Ivy’s Bay and 150 at Trevone.

Next stop, Isles of Scilly where we hope to release 1,000 – looking forward to that!

Fishermans Friends sing in aid of the Lobster Hatchery. Come and join us on the Platt at Port Isaac – not to be missed FRIDAY 11th JUNE 2010

2010-06-09T05:59:00.001-07:00

You will have heard of Fishermans Friends by now, with their recent success of attracting a £1 million record deal with Universal. Or may be you have been lucky enough to hear them sing on the Platt on a summer evening at Port Isaac, with the fishing boats and beach as a back drop.

It really is a magical experience, pint in hand and singing along to the sea shanties. They start at 8pm no matter what the weather. See you there.

Lobster season

2010-05-19T02:59:00.001-07:00

It’s slow and steady in the hatchery at the moment. With the cold winter and to be honest, a cold spring, broodstock has been slow to come in. The last few years we’ve had such mild winters that the lobster season started as early as February and we were in full swing early on.

We’re still getting 600 larvae through a day so it’s all good.

New children’s interactive display

2010-05-05T05:47:00.001-07:00

Dr Jo Henley from Sci Art Solutions came to install our new children’s display yesterday. Come and try your skill with our new fishing game, arrange the creatures in order of the food chain and test your knowledge with 3 new quiz and colouring sheets.

It’s with thanks to South West Water that we were able to get this children’s interactive bench commissioned.

Part time Visitor Centre Assistants required

2010-04-28T01:03:00.001-07:00

to help us out over the summer. Hours 3pm - 8pm approx Position available from July

Minimum Wage

Application by CV to General Manager info@nationallobsterhatchery.co.uk

closing date 21/05/10

Rock Oyster Festival June 2010

2010-04-21T07:16:00.001-07:00

Get the date in your diaries and check out the website for more detail.

Porthilly Farm in Rock will play host to the inaugural Rock Oyster Festival over the weekend of 19th – 20th June this year. The festival is being organised by a team of locals whose passion for the shellfish of the Cornish coast has convinced them to hold an event which celebrates and champions the sustainable seafood.
This will be the first oyster festival ever on the North coast of Cornwall.

http://www.cornwalls.co.uk/events/2010-06-19-rock-oyster-festival-2010.htm

Sharing expertise across Europe

2010-04-15T06:17:00.001-07:00

We are delighted to welcome two students from Europe to help us out as the hatchery gets busy and the lobsters start to hatch. Hugo Bertigny from the South of France has recently finished an HND in Aquaculture at Lycee Saint Christophe and will be with us for 3 months work experience.

Tomas F. Wyatt Reguera is with us for a 3 month work placement which is part of his course at IGAFA (Instituto Gallego de Formacion Acuicola) in Galicia, Spain. Tomas has done a lot of lobster culture work and has experience with green water techniques so we are benefitting from their knowledge as well.

Pescadou Spring Fund raising event – 26th March 2010

2010-03-25T07:30:00.001-07:00

It’s tomorrow – the event is upon us. We are completely sold out and so only those that have pre-booked their tickets will be allowed entry.

Just to confirm that arrival time is 7pm for a 7.30pm start. Pescadou Restaurant is next door to The Old Custom House on Padstow Harbour. The itinerary is as follows:

Dom, General Manager of the Hatchery to give an introductory speech
Three Course Meal
Handing over to John Cleave to do the Auction
Cabaret
Raffle Draw

Feel free for a glimpse of the menu, auction and raffle prizes by clicking on the above links.

Port Isaac Primary School & Play Group have a day out at the hatchery

2010-03-17T04:44:00.001-07:00

What a day we had, starting with a ferry trip from Rock to Padstow, a quick exploration of the beach, past the fishing boats and harbour and onto the hatchery where they met baby lobsters, crabs, shrimps, giant lobsters and even Larry made an appearance (our 6ft cuddly mascot).

They got up close and personal with one of our mummy lobsters, laden with eggs, a unique sighting of a baby lobster moulting (bursting out of his exo-skeleton) and for lunch, pasties all round.

The hatchery gets a well needed make over

2010-03-17T04:28:00.001-07:00

The hatchery hasn’t been spruced up since it was first built in 2000, its now a gleaming white, even our logo got a make over.

Do you fancy a Cornish escape to Padstow in March or April 2010?

2010-03-11T07:51:00.001-08:00

The Metropole Hotel in Padstow would like to offer Friends of the National Lobster Hatchery a special rate on rooms this spring. The Metropole commands prime position overlooking the estuary and sand dunes beyond and Padstow is at its best out of season, where you are free to roam the harbour and footpaths without the summer crowds.

The special rates are as follows:

March dinner, bed & breakfast from £99 per room per night

April dinner, bed & breakfast from £130 per room per night

If you are lucky enough to take up this opportunity, the Metropole Hotel would like to donate the cost of your entry fee to the Lobster Hatchery which means you are welcome to come in and catch up with our resident lobsters and crabs.

For hotel details please refer to their website: www.the-metropole.co.uk or phone 0800 2300 365. Please quote ref. NLH2010 when booking.

Fundraising Event for the Hatchery at the Pescadou Restaurant

2010-03-10T07:25:00.001-08:00

The Lobster Hatchery is holding another fund raising event at the Pescadou Restaurant in Padstow. This year the tickets will cost £29.50 per person. For this, Pescadou will provide a three course dinner and a glass of wine, followed by a cabaret.

Last years event was a huge success and raised over £2000 for the hatchery from ticket sales and the auction. We had some amazing prizes last year and are doing our best to put on another exciting selection of packages to bid for.

The hatchery will receive half of the proceeds from the ticket sales plus the profits from the auction. Our aim this year is to improve on last years success both in numbers attending and the amount raised.

MENU

Starters

Pescadou Crab and crayfish gumbo with rouille parmesan crouton

Home oak smoked chicken with a pineapple salsa and minted crème fraiche

Indian Spiced smoked haddock kedgeree topped with a poached free-range egg

Mains

Roast chunky fillet of hake over bouillabaisse of clams and mussels

Roast duck breast on a colcannon potato, kale and blueberry port reduction

Thai vegetable curry with a coconut rice cake and char grilled lime and melon salsa

Sides

Minted Cornish new potatoes

Baby Carrots in tarragon butter

Purple sprouting broccoli with toasted pine nuts

Desserts

Sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce, sherried sultanas and clotted cream

Vanilla Crème Brulee with roast plum compote and rich chocolate shortbread

A selection of Cornish cheeses with Healey's cider farm chutney and wheat crackers

Lobster Hatchery on FACEBOOK

2010-03-03T04:27:00.001-08:00

We decided to join the noughties and sign up for facebook. So if you’re on Facebook and are interested in keeping up-to-date with our work and our cute little lobsters, then check us out and become a fan. Tell all your friends, tell everyone.

11th Dr Who or is it Lobster Dr

2010-02-25T02:52:00.001-08:00

Charlie said he was taking a year out to go travelling but he didn’t mention the cyber space galactic travel.

Don’t forget our His & Hers Adopt a Lobster for Valentines

2010-01-20T05:08:00.001-08:00

The perfect gift this Valentine’s for only £5.25. Adopt two baby lobsters, name them after yourself and your partner and we will release them back into the wild together. You will also receive two beautifully wrapped Cornish vanilla chocolate love hearts to put on their pillow in the morning, along with your certificate…………

and if you are feeling really generous we’ve got a lovely big red cuddly lobster to go with it, on special offer for £8 instead of £12.

CLICK HERE TO ADOPT

Wake up to Wogan Lobster Release

2009-12-16T00:54:00.001-08:00

We’re not just sad that Terry is retiring but concerned for our baby lobsters that have grown up with his dulcet tones. In honour of the ‘Wake up to Wogan’ team we decided to adopt 4 lobsters TOGmeister, Splotty, Boggy and Deadly and release them back into the wild. The team will live on, on the seabed.

International Lobster Science Meeting

2009-12-03T07:16:00.001-08:00

Lobster scientists meet to discuss stock enhancement programmes on both sides of the Atlantic. Dom Boothroyd, General Manager of the National Lobster Hatchery said ‘It was a really productive meeting, amazing work coming out of Canada with a great deal of potential for collaboration. It was like looking in a mirror’'. Carly Daniels, PhD researcher and Jake Scolding, Researcher of the NLH presented their work to the group.

In attendance, Martin Mallet, General Director of Homarus Inc. from Canada, Dounia Daoud Postdoctoral Fellow of Crustaceans, Coastal Zones Research Institute, Canada and Craig Burton, Seafood Scotland. On the second day, scientists from the National Oceanography Centre of Southampton Dr Ken Collins and Anthony Jensen and President of the SAGB Jeremy Simmonds join the talks.

Researcher Carly Daniels receives award for outstanding research

2009-12-02T03:17:00.001-08:00

Carly Daniels, PhD researcher at the National Lobster Hatchery presented her research at the Burntwood Lecture at the Royal Society in London on the 11th November 2009. She was presented the John Rose Award 2009 by the Institution of Environmental Science for outstanding research. The £1,000 award is to help exceptional research fulfill its potential by communicating it beyond the scientific community.

Carly would like to use the money to produce a 3 minute video about her research that will be shown in the visitor centre at the hatchery in Padstow. The film will uncover the three years work into the use of pre and pro-biotics in lobster nutrition.

Herman the Giant new resident lobster

2009-11-18T08:10:00.001-08:00

Check out our new resident lobster, Herman. He weights a massive 5.1kg (11.25lb), not the biggest lobster ever caught in Britain but certainly a monster! The largest British lobster,according to the British Marine Life Study Society (BMLSS) measured 1.26m from the end of its tail to the tip of its claws and weighed 9.3kg (20lb 8oz). It was caught during repair work on a jetty off Fowey in Cornwall as long ago as 1931. (Reference from Phil Lockley’s article, Fishing News 30/10/09)

Larry entertains the crowds at Newlyn Fish Festival

2009-11-18T07:58:00.001-08:00

Another busy fish festival at Newlyn, adopt a lobster was as popular as ever and people always like to see our baby lobsters. This year Larry entertained the crowds, giving all the children high fives.

The hatchery needs your vote to win a cash donation

2009-10-08T02:31:00.001-07:00

This week The National Lobster Hatchery has been invited to participate in the Charity of the Year Competition on www.optimistworld.com, which if we are successful could bring in a very welcome cash donation.

To ensure that we move on into the second round of the competition, please go to the site: register here (takes only one minute) http://optimistworld.com/RegistrationHome.aspx and vote for us before Thursday 15^th October at 6pm here http://optimistworld.com/Charities.aspx on the left hand side of the page.

Optimist World is all about the good things that are happening – good news, charities, corporate social responsibility, the environment, eco travel, sports and you can even add your own uplifting stories.

This is the link to the feature about the hatchery: http://optimistworld.com/UK-Charity-The-National-Lobster-Hatchery-Marine-Conservation-Project-Promoting-Sustainability-Aquaculture/charities

Please forward this to all your friends and families and anyone who you think could spare a minute to vote for us – we need your and your friends’ votes and, if you have time, some nice comments too !!

Newquay Fish Festival 18th – 20th September 2009

2009-09-17T04:36:00.001-07:00

Newquay’s Fish Festival, now in its 7th year is due to start tomorrow. The Lobster Hatchery will be exhibiting on the 18th only and taking along some of our baby lobsters. There’s lots going on, from cooking demonstrations from top Newquay chefs, live bands and entertainers, fish and produce stalls to a shark throwing competition – sounds intriguing! We’ll see you there. This is a link to their website for further information.

www.newquayfishfestival.co.uk

Prize winner releases baby lobsters!!

2009-08-27T08:24:00.001-07:00

The National Lobster Hatchery ran a joke competition to celebrate World Oceans Day. The winner Haden Dawe received a VIP tour of the hatchery, a giant cuddly lobster and then had the opportunity to assist with the release of 200 baby lobsters at Trevone beach just 2 miles from Padstow.

“These 200 are just a small sample of the 5,000 that we have released so far this season” said Dom. “Yesterday we released 800 from fishing boat Peter John II, owned by Ivor and Cameron Henry out of Mylor on the South Coast using the tube system and we still should have several months left of production still to go this season”.

I am sure that Haden enjoyed his afternoon with us and his joke is now on display at the visitor centre. When we received his joke it made us all laugh – we like a good fishy joke.

“Why did the lobster cross the beach – to get to the other tide”

World Oceans Day was created in 2008 by the United Nations General Assembly.

‘Jet-boost’ aids walking lobsters (Article from Earth News)

2009-08-26T02:28:00.001-07:00

American lobsters use "jet-assisted" walking to travel faster across the ocean floor, scientists have found. Click link below for full article.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8214000/8214150.stm

Clovelly Lobster & Crab Feast 6th Sept 09

2009-07-23T08:49:00.001-07:00

Join us at the Clovelly Lobster & Crab Feast on the 6th September 2009. The event starts at 10am, if you haven’t already been to Clovelly this is a must. Just the walk down the cobbled paths to the harbour is unique with a breathtaking view when you reach the beach.

The event pays tribute to Clovelly's famous lobsters and crabs with a day of live folk music, street performers, lobster hypnotist, quay kitchen, wine tasting, local stalls, lobster and crab exhibition and entertainment for the children.

The Lobster Hatchery has been nominated to receive the proceeds from the event. Come and see us and our baby lobsters.

www.clovelly.co.uk/events.php

LOBSTER LOVE – BBC Wildlife Magazine Feature

2009-07-16T07:12:00.001-07:00

BBC Wildlife’s Summer 2009 magazine is now on the shelves, and the Lobster Hatchery has a four page spread with some amazing photographs of this majestic creature. Thomas Peschak and Dan Beecham from Save our Seas Foundation spent a few days with us last year filming and photographing the lobsters and this is the first of many incredible photographs to be published. Cheryl Samantha-Owen, the ocean correspondent for Save our Seas Foundation has written the article revealing the fascinating world of the king of shellfish.

http://www.bbcwildlifemagazine.com/currentissue.asp

Lobster Hats in the USA

2009-06-04T03:51:00.001-07:00

Being lobster obsessed we seek out lobsters wherever we go, we found these crazy lobster hats in San Francisco. We hope to get some made ourselves for our little shop of lobsters – watch this space!

Sarah the new Rock Blogster

2009-04-08T05:21:00.001-07:00

Sarah will soon be taking over full blogging rights for this site... I thought it would be nice to put a face to the name… here she is…

Sarah Boothroyd…

New Website

2009-04-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

We will soon be launching our new website for the National Lobster Hatchery. The site has been designed and created by our local North Cornwall web design company The Drawing Board.
The site includes a shop and allows donations to be made on line... so if you haven't adopted a lobster yet, we hope this new website will make it even easier and more fun...

Rock Blogster Coming soon

2008-11-27T09:08:00.000-08:00

This blog will soon become the rants and raves of the select few who give their time and devotion to the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, Cornwall, UK.