the firth of forth lobster hatchery

In June, our team travelled to North Berwick visit Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery and present them with one shell of a charitable donation. As part of our ongoing sustainable initiative, out diners were given the opportunity to donate £1 from their bill to the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery. An amazing £1,000 has been raised and we matched this with another £1,000!

hatch ~ rear ~ return

During the visit, the team had a unique chance to experience first-hand the vital work the organisation does to support the fishing communities of East Lothian & Fife, as well as strengthening the local marine ecosystem. We learnt about the life cycle of the shellfish from the most vulnerable stage at just 12 weeks old to pelagic larvae, and finally into juveniles which are then released into the wild. We even released a few baby female lobsters into the Firth of Forth (not something you do every day!).

keeping it local

Sustainability is high up on our list of priorities and everything we do is centred around serving seafood from the waters of Scotland in the most sustainable way possible. Our commitment is even anchored in our sustainable policy, which you can have a read of here.

Since opening the restaurant in November 2021, we’ve worked with our guests to raise money for the charity and show our appreciation for the important work they do in protecting Scotland’s world-renowned shellfish. We hope our donation will assist with the work of the charity as they continue to conduct valuable research and time into improving the survival rate of the lobsters.

We caught up with Jake Norton, Hatchery director at Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery, who said “This fantastic donation is integral in allowing us to continue our work of enhancing the fishery and local environment. As a centre for education and knowledge sharing it was great to show the iasg team how we have progressed over the years – we’re excited to see what the future holds with their support.”

what’s next

Our donation will be used to rear around 700 juvenile lobsters, which will eventually be released into the Firth of Forth. With local lobster populations facing several challenges due to over-fishing worldwide, the charity is dependent on donations to support its essential conservation work. In 2019, the Hatchery celebrated its 10th anniversary with over 14,000 juveniles and hundreds of V-notched females returned to the sea. As the Hatchery goes into a new decade, the future remains uncertain – but as the only operating Hatchery in Scotland, it continues to be a centre for education, knowledge sharing and production of juveniles to support lobster stocks.