15AGRITECHCAT4: Lobster Grower 2 - Assessing the technical, economic and environmental potential for a novel candidate aquaculture industry.

This project focuses on developing three priority areas for commercial lobster aquaculture: 1) field testing and development of innovative technical solutions, 2) development of an Aqua-economic model and: 3) de risking of farming operations. The European lobster is a high value species with a significant supply deficit and a limited fisheries production capacity. The development of a lobster aquaculture industry will generate wealth and jobs in vulnerable coastal communities and contribute towards food security issues. Lobster Grower 2 (LG2), a follow on project from the successful first stage project: Lobster Grower one (LG1), aims to implement field tests and evaluate innovations generated in LG1, whilst developing and testing further innovations related to anchoring systems. A specific objective of LG2 will be to develop an 'aqua-economic' model based on operations of a pilot scale lobster farm. This will be based upon a detailed technical and economic evaluation of the pilot farm's operation, utilising the developed innovative approach. This economic predictive tool will enable and encourage entrepreneurs and potential investors to enter into commercial production with a reduced economic and technical risk. A significant component of the project will also focus on de-risking key environmental risks associated with livestock farming from a product and system development approach, which if not addressed would represent further commercial risk. Therefore, the project also explores real-word factors such ergonomics of handling, transportation and storage, transportation logistics with and without lobsters and the overall practical implications for stakeholders throughout the supply chain.

Support from the Agri-tech catalyst has been secured for a 36 month project, addressing fundamental food security challenges by examining novel angles to expand aquaculture; to include a species not currently exploited, the European Lobster. This species commands the highest value (by volume) of any species landed in the UK and exhibits a significant supply deficit.

Central to this project and its success is the design, development, testing and assessment of Sea based culture, in containers (SBCC). The SBCC have the potential for a low carbon form of rearing with no feed costs.

The containers will be designed and developed using design led research that engages with the users of the containers, namely, fishermen, transporters, handlers and the hatchery supply chain. Observational and participatory research will be applied to evaluate field trial containers developed from LG1 and identify, develop and specify opportunities for the SBCC product itself, and also the holistic system in which the containers are used, for example, anchorage and mooring systems. Therefore, beyond the physical performance and economic viability of the containers in production terms, they will be viewed as 'touchpoints' in a more comprehensive aquaculture system. Within this iterative and inclusive design process effort will be made to identify IP opportunities and exploitation that will contribute to impact. Overall the design activity aims to support future commercialisation of the system and its SBCC product elements by optimise all elements that contribute to the holistic system. Throughout the design process iterative models and 3D CAD will be realise.

The consortium will be led by the National Lobster Hatchery and consists of two SME's, two HEI's and a Government Agency

This project aims to progress the UK's aquaculture industry by enhancing the prospect for the culture of a species not currently exploited in the aquaculture industry. There is a critical mass of knowledge in the UK and the physical and chemical properties found in our coastal waters match the biological requirements of this high value candidate species. Further development of aquaculture will therefore provide an economic boost to the UK's agri-tech industry. With the market for farmed crustacean species in 2006 reaching $20 billion globally at first sale (Stentiford et al., 2010) the potential market for farmed lobsters is huge. The yearly global markets for live and frozen lobster is estimated to rise due to the increase in demand with product requirements estimated to be between 50,000 and 70,000 tonnes, whilst current landings of the European Lobster are in the order of 5,000 tonnes (http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2648/en). By taking in consideration a price for the Lobster of £15 per kilogram (as identified in an article by The Telegraph from 28th April 2013) and assuming an increase through European Lobster farming from 5,000 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes the market increase would be from £75million to £300million per year.

As identified in the 'Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture for food security and nutrition' report from 2014 by the 'High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition' (HLPE), overall 158 million tonnes of finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, miscellaneous aquatic animals were produced in 2012, of which 91.3 million tonnes come from inland and marine capture fisheries and 66.6 million tonnes from inland and marine aquaculture. The continual growth in fish production - mostly from aquaculture since the 1990s - and improved production efficiency and distribution channels enabled the supply of fish for food per-capita to more than triple at world level since 1950, from 6 kg/cap/yr in 1950 to 19.2 kg/cap/yr in 2012. The today capture of finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, miscellaneous aquatic animals provide 3.0 billion people with almost 20 percent of their average per capita intake of animal protein, and a further 1.3 billion people with about 15 percent of their per capita intake. Through the economically and environmental sustainable production of farmed European Lobster a significant contribution can be generated to the further provision of capita intake of animal protein and hence positively contributing to food security.