Country diary: With a flick of its tail, the fragile baby lobster vanishes into a rock pool | Charlie Elder

Trevone Bay, Cornwall: The odds of survival of these juveniles raised in a hatchery are 1,000 times greater than if they had been born in the wildAs I tipped the plastic pot, the juvenile lobster edged forwards, seemingly reluctant to take the plunge. Barely a couple of centimetres long, it had been nurtured through the perilous first weeks of life. Now it was free to roam the sea, with all the risks that entailed.Shaped like a miniature clothes peg, tiny claws spread wide, it gave a flick of its tail and propelled itself out of the pot and down to the sandy bottom of the rock pool, before disappearing among tangles of seaweed. Continue reading...