Monty Halls supports lobster hatchery at fundraising event

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

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

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

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

Following 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

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

 

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.