The recent Dalkey Lobster Festival held from the 24th – 26th August was a resounding success with the picturesque village attracting great crowds to sample the fantastic lobster and local seafood on offer. There was also great interest and craic at the Dalkey Masterchef competition with Dalkey local Pat Kenny joining Gerald Kean, Lucinda O’Sullivan and Tom Doorley to judge the final. But it seems Irish people have an appetite for conservation with BIM’s informative lobster talks and v-notching demos attracting large audiences. BIM’s John Hickey demonstrated how female lobsters are given a v-shaped notch in their tail to ensure if caught again, they will be returned to sea to breed, thereby protecting future stocks. The BIM Lobster V-Notching programme is run in partnership with fishermen around the coast and is a growing success with 13,000 lobsters v-notched last year.
BIM would like to sincerely thank local fisherman Ivan Toole and his crew, Scott Smullen and Eric O’Reilly for providing the live lobsters for the event and for continuing to take part in this important conservation programme.