Team of divers release 500 baby lobsters into Cornish waters

More than 500 lobsters have been released into the wild by a team of divers in Cornwall.

The National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow reared the 540 lobsters from eggs then asked divers from Totnes Sub-Aqua Club for help releasing them.

Chris Weston from The National Lobster Hatchery says the juvenile lobsters have the best chance of survival if they are released directly onto the seabed as they are vulnerable in open water.

"That’s where the divers are useful," he said. "They’ll physically protect them on the way down then release them on the seabed to give them a chance to hide away before they’re found by predators."

A team of 22 divers released the lobsters into the sea off Porthkerris Cove on the Lizard Peninsula - a popular spot for divers - on Saturday 6 July.

Adam Castle, from the club, has been diving for more than seven years but had never done anything like this before.

“It was quite an experience," he said. "It’s very nice to give back to the local Cornish reefs, they’re very plentiful reefs so it’s nice to add to the biodiversity of them."

How were the lobsters released back into the sea?

Lobsters are released with the help of divers, from boats via a special tube or on rocky shores at low tide.

Mr Weston said: “We work with around 18 local fisherman who are specially licensed to bring us pregnant egg bearing lobsters.

"It is otherwise illegal to land them in England so they have a licence, we then collect them from the fishermen, hatch the eggs and rear them from those vulnerable first few weeks of life."

The National Lobster Hatchery is a conservation, education and research charity whose aim is to help conserve the vulnerable lobster populations and preserve the coastal marine bio-diversity of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.