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Whitby Lobster Hatchery nets further support from Anglo American and the Woodsmith Foundation

20 July, 2023

The Whitby Lobster Hatchery is set to expand thanks to a donation of £95,000 from the Woodsmith Foundation that will allow them to expand their team and cover some of their running costs.

This donation is the next stage of support for the charity that has already received over £50,000 from Anglo American directly.

Lobsters now make up the majority of income for local fishermen, replacing white fish as the main target species. The Hatchery will aim to dramatically increase lobster numbers off the North Yorkshire coast by protecting juveniles during their most vulnerable period, before eventually releasing 100,000 lobsters back into the North Sea, boosting the local fishing trade as a result.

Joe Redfern, owner and founder of the Hatchery, said: “We believe that this conservation effort, alongside effective management, will protect lobster fishing in Whitby by strengthening local lobster stocks and securing jobs for Whitby’s fishing fleet. We will continue to work towards our conservation aims and bring positive change to our coastline.

“The support we’ve received from both Anglo American and the Woodsmith Foundation has been extremely generous. Without their support the Hatchery simply wouldn't be where it is today. We’re also really excited for the opening of our new Marine Discovery Centre later this year that Anglo American are also supporting us with."

Vicky Bolton, Social Programmes Manager for Anglo American’s Crop Nutrients business, said: “The Whitby Lobster Hatchery is a great example of what can be achieved when people work together. We are also delighted that the visitor centre will open in the summer to support tourism in the area and drive people to visit the hatchery.

“The potential to support the heritage of the area whilst having a positive impact on tourism fits well with our Thriving Communities programme.”

Woodsmith Foundation Chief Executive Leah Swain added: “The Whitby Lobster Hatchery will play an important part in safeguarding the economic future of fishermen in Whitby as lobsters provide a large percentage of their income. We believe the Hatchery is a positive project for the town and are delighted to support the team and facility.”

The Woodsmith Foundation is an independent charity funded by Anglo American with the aim of leaving a positive legacy from the Woodsmith Project to the boroughs of Scarborough, Redcar and Cleveland and the North York Moors National Park.

For further information, please contact:

Daniel Gregory
[email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 7890 049400

Notes to editors:

Anglo American is a leading global mining company and our products are the essential ingredients in almost every aspect of modern life. Our portfolio of world-class competitive operations, with a broad range of future development options, provides many of the future-enabling metals and minerals for a cleaner, greener, more sustainable world and that meet the fast growing every day demands of billions of consumers.

With our people at the heart of our business, we use innovative practices and the latest technologies to discover new resources and to mine, process, move and market our products to our customers – safely and sustainably.

As a responsible producer of diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum group metals, premium quality iron ore and metallurgical coal for steelmaking, and nickel – with crop nutrients in development – we are committed to being carbon neutral across our operations by 2040.

More broadly, our Sustainable Mining Plan commits us to a series of stretching goals to ensure we work towards a healthy environment, creating thriving communities and building trust as a corporate leader. We work together with our business partners and diverse stakeholders to unlock enduring value from precious natural resources for the benefit of the communities and countries in which we operate, for society as a whole, and for our shareholders. Anglo American is re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives.

The Woodsmith Project involves digging two 1 mile deep mine shafts at Woodsmith Mine near the village of Sneaton near Whitby, and a 23 mile transportation tunnel to a processing facility and port on Teesside.  In a world first, most of the surface infrastructure at Woodsmith Mine is being built underground and the site landscaped to minimise the visual impact on the surrounding countryside.  It will mine a giant deposit of the mineral polyhalite, which will be sold as a natural, low carbon environmentally friendly fertiliser.

www.angloamerican.com

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