Lessons from the lobsters

By Islay Jackson (YSCS Member)

 In early 2025, I started the Turning The Tide advocacy training with Young Sea Changers Scotland. Having volunteered with the organisation previously as part of their Young Persons Policy Group, I was excited to further my understanding of the marine industry and gain inspiration for the year ahead.  

At the end of the training programme, we were asked to think of the big picture, what was our goal for the year? This task was a chance to reflect on everything we had learned over the course of the training programme, and to action a measurable achievement.  

At first, I wasn’t entirely sure what to do, but I knew that I wanted to do something hands-on as I had lots of knowledge but very little experience ‘in the field’. Deciding to look for summer internships, I spent months emailing organisations to ask for any available opportunities, only to receive no response or the gut-wrenching "unfortunately, we cannot offer you anything this year”, often due to being under 18.  

In an effort to find more people to contact, I spoke to Alan (Director and Founder of YSCS) to ask for help, and he was able to put me in touch with the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery. One more email later, I had landed myself a trial at the hatchery, and eventually an internship with the charity.  

Without help from YSCS, none of this would have been possible. From the initial contact, a great reference to get me started, to providing funding through the Youth Ocean Action Fund to pay for my travel to North Berwick. 

Islay at the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery

Over the last few months I have been commuting from Glasgow to North Berwick, learning how to rear and release European lobsters, and successfully running the hatchery independently. A typical day at the hatchery goes like this: I arrive at the hatchery and start by feeding all of the larvae and juvenile lobsters; then I incubate newly hatched larvae; conduct a water test; generally clean and keep the place running smoothly; and speak to members of the public when they visit the hatchery.  

Coming into the internship, I knew absolutely nothing about European lobsters, but having spent three months rearing and releasing our little guys, I have learned so much. I love being in the hatchery and talking to the public about the work that I am doing, but my absolute favourite part of the job is releasing the lobsters.

The hatchery has a license to hold lobster hens, and they spend about a month in the hatchery where they release their eggs for us to collect and rear. When all the eggs have been released, we release the hen back into the ocean and watch as she swims away to live happily under the waves. When our juveniles are old enough, we take them to the water, find some sand and rocks that make a good hiding place and send them off. 

If you had asked me at the start of the year what my summer plans were, raising lobsters would not have been on my radar! I am so grateful that my year has turned out the way it has. As I sit and write this blog, listening to the air and water bubbling away in the hatchery, my internship with the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery is drawing to an end.  

“As a young person it’s incredibly tricky to know what you want to do with your life when it’s only just begun.”

My internship with the hatchery has solidified my desire to work in conservation, because the fulfilment I feel when I see our little lobsters swim off to begin the rest of their lives is the feeling that I want to chase as I begin the rest of mine. 

I want to thank everyone that has helped me along the way: to Alan, I cannot begin to describe how much help you have been, and not only with the internship, thank you so much! To Jake and the team at the Firth of Forth Lobster Hatchery, thank you for giving this overly-optimistic teenager a chance when many others wouldn’t - I can’t wait to come back to see the hatchery again in the future (especially with the new work involving native oyster restoration!). To YSCS for funding my travel to the hatchery and pushing me to take chances like this in the first place, THANK YOU!  

To any young person reading this that is stuck in the same boat I was a few months ago, keep emailing and trying, and don’t be afraid to ask for help, because eventually it will all turn out alright! Oh, and join YSCS and apply to the YOAF!