Research Wish List

We also have a short list of research projects that we would like to undertake to achieve our future strategies; to develop shellfish and lobster husbandry techniques and to work towards a sustainable fishery for generations to come.

Click here to review the latest research interests.

Our Wish List

Over the years we have found it useful to have a short list of potential projects to improve what we do and the education we offer. It is by no means definitive.

If any of these projects are of interest to you please don't hesitate to contact us to discuss in greater depth.

Extension to the National Lobster Hatchery

The visitor centre has been exceptionally successful, attracting in the region of 40,000 visitors per year. This success is essential because most of the funds for the work undertaken by the National Lobster Hatchery (NLH) are raised through its visitor centre. A small expansion of the building would provide more room for public and formal education and the conduction of research would therefore be of great benefit.

The lower level of the proposed extension would be developed into a centre for raising awareness about the importance of the sustainable management of our living marine resources. The centre will inform the public of the key issues surrounding sustainable management within the industry, promoting specific examples of sustainable practice and highlighting the potential alternative solutions. Various forms of media would be used to get this information across using specific fisheries stories and examples of alternative management and catching methods, making the information understandable at all levels (children, stakeholders, scientists, the consumers). This centre will therefore have the ability to influence both the current and next generation on this important subject.

The extension of the NLH would also create a firmer business base to continue funding its stock enhancement, research and education and would allow the NLH to benefit from the economies of scale. In addition this would allow more placement students from all over the world to be accepted, which would also help strengthen our partnerships with the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter and Cornwall College.

An education programme to increase public awareness. Change public opinion and behaviour by promoting sustainable fishing practices and the work of the National Lobster Hatchery.

This educational project would promote sustainable fisheries issues and how the work of the National Lobster Hatchery (NLH) contributes to the sustainable management of coastal resources. The project will target playgroups, primary and secondary schools, local youth groups and natural history organisations.

The project will consist of the NLH hosting workshops and field trips as well as an outreach project. A mobile display unit will need to be designed and constructed for the outreach programme, which will incorporate living organisms and be the focal point of this part of the project. It is proposed that out of the 270 primary and secondary schools in Cornwall, we aim to visit 25 which are local to the Padstow area and contact the County’s schools to promote our cause and raise interest levels. This will hopefully attract a lot more classes to the NLH which will enrich the education of young people throughout Cornwall as well as promoting the NLH as an education centre for living resource management.

The project is designed to increase awareness of the marine environment, specifically the sustainable use and management of coastal fisheries. The project will utilise novel and innovative methods to deliver our messages and will provide support to our main charitable aim which is marine conservation. This support will be in the form of increasing local awareness of the importance of our work, improving our public relations and prompting the use of our existing educational facilities.

The funding required is £9,800 per year.

Visitor Centre Improvements

To provide an improved viewing area, a section from the visitor centre will be knocked through into the hatchery and create a small "walk-in" area. This will allow the public to have a very good view of the hatchery in operation and allow for greater interaction between the general public and the technicians. This will help the overall understanding of how the hatchery functions, creating a blurring of the boundaries between the back of house and front of house areas.

We also need to improve the accessibility of our exhibits to the next generation. A series of interactive exhibits to enable children of  all ages to enjoy and learn, whilst at the same time, allowing parents more time to take in the informative displays is required.

Improvements to the children’s exhibits at the National Lobster Hatchery visitor centre

The National Lobster Hatchery (NLH) attracts between 30,000 and 40,000 members of the public each year to its visitors centre. The visitor centre is essential in raising funds for the NLH, first and foremost it is a tool for informal education on the work undertaken at the NLH. This project will focus on increasing the accessibility of our exhibits to children by developing low level, interactive exhibits that will stimulate, entertain and educate the children who visit us. This will instil in them, the same desire, to ensure our living marine resources are responsibly and sustainably managed and cared for, as we hope to create in their parents.

There are a number of planned developments to the children’s exhibits:

This project will support our public education programme by generating awareness to future generations of the marine environment, specifically the sustainable use and management of coastal fisheries. At the same time this will improve the NLH’s ability to generate revenue essential to achieve our other charitable objectives.

Conversion of small office space into a microbiology lab

At present microbiology work and bacterial analysis in the National Lobster Hatchery (NLH) is done on a very small scale, limited to bacterial dip slides. Developing a microbiology lab would enable the NLH to undertake simple bacterial analysis to support the work done in the hatchery.

This project will provide better facilities for research to be conducted at the NLH. Such research will include developing the use of pre and pro-biotics in the diets of lobster larvae and juvenile lobsters, as well as developing disinfecting protocols for larval rearing systems.

The proposed lab will be a level 2 microbiology lab which will enable us to conduct basic work. More complicated work will be undertaken at our partner institutes. Creating such a microbiology lab will involve sealing the walls in a room and having impermeable surfaces fitted. There are a few major pieces of equipment needed such as an autoclave, incubator and a fridge. The smaller pieces of apparatus needed are Howee style lab coats, biohazard waste bags and Petri dishes; the need for which will be ongoing.

Small projects concerning updating and general maintenance of the National Lobster Hatchery.

The National Lobster Hatchery (NLH) raises all of its own funds which are used for a wide variety of projects including research and education as well as the ongoing restocking work. These projects are of great importance and are where the majority of funds are spent. However, funding is also needed for the general maintenance of the NLH and updating certain facilities.

The interior and exterior of the Hatchery building needs to be repainted. The tiling of the hatchery floor is also an important small project. New classroom furniture is needed to host field courses and research students. Part of the visitor centre could also be updated by having a new wall-mounted flat screen television to play an informative film. The following is a wish list of equipment that the NLH would benefit from: 2 computers; till for visitor centre; photocopier; flat screen TV.

Research – Post larval diet development

The National Lobster Hatchery has been involved in a number of research projects in recent years. This research involved undertaking work on lobster larval rearing. One specific MSc research project carried out at the NLH, investigated how larval development is affected by a juvenile insect hormone analogue, Fenoxycarb.

In the last year, there has much research being conducted on developing the diet of larval stage lobsters to try and improve their growth, development and survival. Specifically it involves the incorporation of pre and pro-biotics into the larval diets. Beneficial effects have already been discovered adding substances such as Biomoss® to the diet of the larvae.

The NLH plans to continue with its research developing diets for the culture of lobsters. A logical next step would be improving the diets fed to the post-larval stage of the European lobster. This would be in conjunction with the University of Plymouth’s MSc Students studying Sustainable Aquaculture. Such a project would strengthen the links with our partner institutes as well as keeping the NLH as one of the leading researchers of European lobster culture.

 

National Lobster Hatchery, Padstow, Cornwall