08.01.07
CUC supports National Lobster Hatchery

A study being carried out at the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow has been so successful it has recently secured investment from the Cornwall Research Fund for a second project. The fund, which is administered by the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) Business Development Team in collaboration with the University Of Exeter, was set up with investment from Objective One's European Social Fund and had initially enabled a six month project at the hatchery.

As a charity the National Lobster Hatchery relies largely on donations and income from its visitor centre and needs such external funding to carry out essential research. The Cornwall Research Fund made it possible for the charity to take on full time researcher Carly Daniels and also provided specialist equipment, including a larval development room. The extra investment will allow the latest project to be carried out at the hatchery over the next twelve months.

Local graduate, Carly, who lives in Wadebridge and gained her BSc in Marine and Coastal Ecology at The University of Plymouth - itself a partner in the CUC - has been researching how different feeds and environments can be optimised to encourage growth in lobsters after they are hatched and looking at ways of preserving lobster stocks.

Involvement with the CUC team has also encouraged collaborative links between the hatchery with its partner universities and colleges and given mutual benefits. General Manager of the National Lobster Hatchery, Dom Boothroyd, explains: "Students from The University of Plymouth, Cornwall College Newquay and the University of Exeter in Cornwall have already undertaken projects here at the hatchery as part of their courses and we are very keen for this to be expanded in the future. In return, we have had access to the specialist marine facilities and knowledge of the CUC partners. We hope to continue to strengthen these links to offer more educational opportunities for people in the county and at the same time conserve Cornwall's rich marine life.'

Carly also commented on how essential research and collaboration are: "It is crucial for the area that specialist subjects like my degree and the Foundation degree in Aquaculture at Cornwall College Newquay are available. The University of Plymouth has a very good reputation for marine subjects and has links with a number of marine and biological associations. Cornwall's coast is a very special place- teeming with life- and we need to do all we can to understand more about it and protect it for the future.'

The National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow has established itself as quite a unique tourist attraction, being the only place in the country where the public can view and learn about lobsters at all different stages of growth. Its vital studies aim to preserve the delicate and fascinating marine biodiversity of the seas surrounding Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Now, local fishermen bring 'berried' lobsters - females with eggs - to the hatchery, where the eggs are hatched into larvae and given an optimum diet and environment, identified by Carly's research, to help them grow quickly and healthily to a juvenile stage, without the dangers and diseases present in the wild. The juveniles are then reintroduced around the Cornish coast and will enhance and eventually stabilise stocks.

For further information contact Emma Stallard PR and Communications Officer for the Combined Universities in Cornwall on 01326 370446 or email emma.stallard@cuc.ac.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) project, both Phase 1 and Phase 2 through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF).

Editor's notes:

The Combined Universities in Cornwall is a dynamic and visionary partnership that is one of the driving forces behind Cornwall's economic renaissance. This partnership combines the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, University College Falmouth, The Open University, The College of St Mark & St John, and the Peninsula Medical School, with Cornwall's Further Education colleges - Cornwall College, Truro College and Penwith College. It aims not only to provide the students of the future with more choice and greater opportunities, but also to boost the economic fortunes of the region for the benefit of one and all.

The CUC initiative has been invested in by the Objective One Partnership for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, the South West Regional Development Agency, Cornwall County Council and the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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