Over1,000 lobster hatchlings were released into the Colne estuary recently after being grown in the Thames Estuary Lobster Hatchery.

The hatchery, based on Brightlingsea’s Shipyard Estate, aims to conserve and protect the lobster population in the Thames Estuary while providing a sustainable source of the crustaceans for commercial and recreational fishing.

The tiny hatchlings – the first of around 50,000 destined for local waters – are released via a long tube that delivers them directly to the seabed where they then bury themselves into the gravel. It’s thought that they will then spend their first two years buried before emerging fully-grown.