Happy St Paddy’s Day everyone!

Todd Fish lobster tanks and triple filter

Some creel fishermen are lucky to be able to fish all year.  Others have a limited season which is weather dependent.  The most abundant season for lobster and crab is April to October with a peak in the warm Summer months.  So what happens if you want fresh, Irish lobster for your St Patrick’s Day celebration meal on the 17th of March?

Although the Guinness supply may be your first concern we do see a spike in enquiries leading up to this international day of celebration.

Fish merchants and fishmongers want to ensure a supply of fresh crustacea and many restaurants also plan on serving quality seafood.  Some Irish fishermen contacted us last month to discuss holding systems for their catch.  They were hoping to be able to get out fishing for a few days before St Patrick’s Day and wanted to price a system to keep their catch in tip-top condition.  Many people are surprised that our systems can keep lobsters alive for months.  We have conducted trials in-house which prove the lobsters keep their condition for up to 7 months.  After this they can lose condition and need fed but can be held indefinitely with the correct feeding and husbandry.  So our Irish friends could hold onto their Autumn catch and still have thriving, excellent quality lobsters to sell today. Indeed if you have a good catch in Summer when the price is low you can hold lobsters in a Todd Fish system you can sell them when the prices rise.  Many of our customers rotate their stock and sell the full capacity weekly but if the price is low or the season is coming to an end they stockpile.  These lobsters can then be sold for Christmas, New year, Chinese New year or indeed St Patrick’s Day.  This price is likely to be double or triple what can be achieved in Summer.

Another Irish customer asked if there was a way to make the lobsters green.

Errin Todd with Lobsters

With the trend for green Guinness and turning rivers and lakes green for the celebration he wanted to know if this is possible in lobsters.  We regularly see different colour morphs turning up around our coast and reported in Fishing News.  These unusual catches are caused by a number of reasons e.g. genetics, habitat, diet or environmental exposure.  Turning lobsters green is, in theory, possible but not something we would recommend and would not improve the health of the animal or the taste.

All of Team Todd hope you are having a great St Patrick’s Day celebration and perhaps next year with the help of our Lobster Tanks and Lobster Pods we can all enjoy some quality shellfish (even if it is not green!).

Top of the Fishes to you (To Be Sure),

Errin

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