The spiny lobster is a highly prized delicacy, but with illegal fishing techniques the crayfish creatures are endangered.

Three students—Bouke Batema, Peter van der Werf and Jonah van Beijnen—from Wageningen University in the Netherlands are trying to remedy that situation with a new company called South Sea Exclusive, a sustainable aquaculture business set in the Philippines that would, they say, help bring the population back to a healthy size.

The financial drive for the company is obvious—the export market for the spiny lobster is 35 Euros. But there are also some techniques they’re using which might make spiny lobster farming sustainable. For one thing, they place fewer lobsters in each cage and use mussels and seaweed to filter the water. The filtering is key for both giving the lobsters a good environment but also to keep the water itself from becoming polluted.

The mussels also provide food for the lobsters and the seaweed goes to Asian restaurants where it is a main ingredient in many dishes. One thing the young entrepreneurs face is that so far, the ability to hatch lobsters is such a delicate process that it hasn’t been done, which means they still have to rely on wild lobsters for now.

The company plans to donate revenue to environmental education groups and research once their funds start rolling in.

Sources: Radio Netherlands Worldwide

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Lobster
written by Green Experience, September 20, 2008

I've only had lobster a few times in my life, and they are pretty good, but 35 Euros (is that the price for just one of them?)! In any case, it's good that the company is trying to revive them, as I'm all for biodiversification.

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