Yorkshire Marine Research Centre Launches In Bridlington
A new community and lobster hatchery has launched in Bridlington today to conduct vital research on fishing grounds in the North Sea.
Last updated 1st Sep 2020
A new community and lobster hatchery has launched in Bridlington today.
The project is to conduct vital research on fishing grounds in the North Sea.
The Yorkshire Marine Research Centre's build was implemented by Holderness Fishing Industry Group and funded by the West of Morecambe Fisheries Fund and the European Marine Fisheries Fund.
The project aims to undertake studies on ecology, marine science and fishery biology.
Dr. John Terschak, Labratory Manager and Marine Science Officer at the Yorkshire Marine Research Centre, said:
"We have a research hatchery where we have female lobsters that have eggs that come into our laboratory, they hatch in our controlled conditions and we can do investigations around those lobsters larvae as they grow.
It allows us to ask questions that would be impossible to study out in the wild; so we can look at things like climate change in the marine environment, which may impact the future of ecosystem health but also the fishing industry."
Yorkshire Marine Research Centre in Bridlington
Whilst the new centre will not be open to the public, it will publicly display research findings for passers-by to view.
A schedule of live Q&A sessions with scientists will also be promoted throughout the year for anyone to attend.
The brand new laboratory within the facility has the latest in digital microscopy, a continual supply of filtered seawater, and larval rearing equipment allowing the scientists to investigate early life stages of lobster and crab that would not be possible in the open sea.
The project will see important research being undertaken on the habitat of native marine species.
Upon completion of the various studies, healthy juvenile shellfish will be released back in to the sea, acting as a form of stock enhancement.
Dr. Tershak added:
"We're hoping to attract volunteers from the community, especially from fishing families, possibly the children of our fishermen who are interested in attending University.
Research is expensive and the money to do it is hard to come by. We are not affiliated with any specific universities, but we collaborate with them, which gives us access to funding, but it means involving another level of administration and costs and compromise.
We prefer our business model which sees us doing commercial work in the marine sector and using 100% of the proceeds to fund our projects that benefit the whole Yorkshire Coast as well as our ever-important fishing industry.
We've outgrown our 11m dedicated research vessel, the R/V Huntress. It was a former fishing boat that we've adapted to our needs, but now that the lab is well underway, our next big challenge will be replacing the Huntress.
We've just outgrown it as we've established ourselves as a research organisation, our investigations have become more sophisticated and our sample sites are requiring us to go further offshore and the equipment we are deploying is more complex.
We are always interested in speaking with either companies or private families who are just as committed to the Yorkshire Coast as we are and may wish to assisting us in acquiring a more capable vessel to do our work."