A CITY centre hotel has donated £2000 to a North Berwick lobster hatchery.
A team of 25 staff from the award-winning Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel visited the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery to donate the money on behalf of its seafood restaurant iasg.
The restaurant, which opened in November 2021, serves seafood from Scotland in the most sustainable way possible, for example, by only using hand-dived or creel-caught shellfish where there is a healthy supply.
As part of this, the team is dedicated to supporting charities that align with its practices and diners were given the chance to donate £1 from their food bill to the hatchery, raising a total of £1000.
The money was matched by the hotel to bring the donation up to £2000 and will be used to rear around 700 juvenile lobsters which will eventually be released.
During the visit, the hotel staff saw first-hand the vital work of the charity and released female lobsters into the First of Forth.
Mafalda Albuquerque, general manager at Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel, said: "iasg serves the finest, sustainable Scottish seafood to our customers and with that, it’s important for our team to learn and encourage the ongoing development of Scottish lobster conservation.
"Since opening the restaurant last year we’ve worked with our customers to raise money for the charity and show our appreciation for the important work they do in protecting Scotland’s shellfish which is world-renowned.
"We hope our donation will assist with the work of the charity as they continue conduct valuable research and time into improving the survival rate of the lobsters."
Jake Norton, hatchery director at Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery, added: "This fantastic donation from Kimpton Blythswood Square 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 restaurant team how we have progressed over the years – we’re excited to see what the future holds with their support."
The Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery was established to support the fishing communities of East Lothian and Fife and strengthen the local marine ecosystem with the hope of increasing the populations of crabs, langoustines and oysters, as well as lobsters.
As one of Scotland’s only hatcheries, the team aims to release 20,000 lobsters each year to contribute to stocks.
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