Not for the pot: how the V-notch in lobsters’ tails may save a way of life

Cornishman Ned Bailey has caught and returned ‘notched’ lobsters for years to preserve stocks. But many fishers do not, risking their future

Ned Bailey has spent the best part of four decades fishing off the south coast of Cornwall. Today, in his yellow oilskins and accompanied by his wind-tousled collie spaniel, the 58-year-old is doing the rounds in the Falmouth estuary, hauling up a string of rust-darkened lobster pots.

He tosses out stray crabs, several starfish and a squirming conger eel. Every so often he pulls out a lobster: if it’s over 90mm (3.5in) long, he keeps it; if not, it’s thrown back into the sea, in line with regulations.