About us...
Whitstable Lobster Hatchery is a non-profit, self-funded registered aquaculture production business (APB), operating at our restaurant The Harbour Garden, in Whitstable's famous working harbour. As far as we know, we are the only restaurant in the world to feature a lobster hatchery!
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Over the years there has been a noticeable decline in numbers of local native lobsters landed off the North Kent coast. This is likely due to a number of contributing factors including years of over exploitation, changing environmental conditions and extreme weather events. This has led us to look at ways we can give nature a helping hand to replenish and protect this valuable species and support the future prosperity of our local fishermen and coastal community.
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An egg-bearing female lobster can carry thousands of eggs under her tail, however estimates suggest that only 1 in 20,000 are expected to survive beyond the larval life stages in the wild. Lobster larvae are incredibly vulnerable and face high mortality rates from predation, starvation and other environmental factors.
how it works...
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Egg-bearing female lobsters (berried hens) are brought into the hatchery by local fishermen and hatch their eggs in a controlled environment.
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Lobster larvae are collected and reared in specialist tanks, shielding them from predators and other threats they would face in the wild.
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Once the tiny larval lobsters have reached the juvenile stage they stand a much better chance of survival in the wild. At this stage they are safely released into carefully selected marine habitats to continue growing to adulthood.
What is Aquaculture?
The process of cultivating aquatic organisms is known as Aquaculture.
Studies have shown that cultivating lobster larvae in a controlled hatchery environment can improve survival rates up to 1000 times compared to that of the wild.
Once released back into the wild it will take a further 5-7 years for the lobsters to reach the size where they are eligible to enter the fishery.
What happens to our mums?
Once the mums have finished hatching their eggs they are safely returned to the sea.
Immediately prior to their release, a small notch is made in the tail, known as a 'V notch'. This then means it is illegal to remove that lobster from the sea until the notch has grown out in future moults. V notching is a conservational measure used to indicate that the lobster is a breeding female and should be left in the sea to further mate and reproduce.
