A batch of baby lobsters has been released into the sea on the Yorkshire coast to kickstart a scheme aimed at replenishing dwindling stocks, the BBC has reported.

They were raised from eggs by the Whitby Lobster Hatchery which aims to rear 100,000 juveniles every year. The boost to local populations would “ensure the sustainability of the local fishing industry”, the hatchery said.

It follows the deaths of tens of thousands of crabs and lobsters on the North East coast since October 2021. Defra have previously reported on the investigation into the deaths.

Whitby Lobster Hatchery’s Joe Redfern said releasing the 50 one-inch lobsters into the sea at Whitby on Thursday was “momentous” and felt “amazing”. He said work towards the release at Saltwick Bay in North Yorkshire had been ongoing for two years and had been made more important by the shellfish deaths along the coast.

Whitby Mayor Linda Wild said: “It’s just the right time for our release of the juvenile lobster [after] the disaster that has unfolded on our coast with tons of dead and dying crustaceans washing up on our shores.

“The lobster hatchery moving forward will help to replenish the seas with lobster for the future”.

Meanwhile, local lobster merchant Terry Pearson described the event as “a historical day for the fishing communities in Whitby and the North East coast”. He said a project which envisaged replacing each lobster caught by a fisherman “was finally under way.”

Speaking after he had released the baby lobsters, Mr Redfern said it was “a massively symbolic step for the future”. “Onwards and upwards from here for our project, coastline, and fishing communities”, he added.

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