The Fishermen of Lyme Bay identified 50 species of fish and shellfish that thrive in these local waters and with the help of local artist Debby Mason (Debby Mason Artist – Printmaker of Mezzotints, Etchings, Designs and Illustrations) who created artwork for each of these 50 species, the LBF decided to launch a summer Scavenger Hunt to help promote knowledge on the fleet, encourage sourcing locally and help local businesses with traffic into their businesses over the summer and until the end of the first school half-term break in October 2023.
In each of our four ports, Beer, Axmouth, Lyme Regis and West Bay, the LBF asked local businesses to put up a window sticker that features one specie on each sticker, so that throughout that port, all the 50 species of fish and shellfish would be displayed in a window. The hunt received so much support from local businesses, that all 50 posters were in shop windows by the start of summer holidays in July 2023.
Each of the businesses received a packet with leaflets so that anyone entering the shop would be able to ask for a free leaflet and start the scavenger hunt right away. The leaflet features the numbers 1-50 and a space to enter the name of the species in the blank space next to the number. Once the hunt for all 50 species is done the completed leaflet can be scanned, or take a photo, and email to info@lbfcic.com, to be entered into a monthly draw to win a free “Lyme Bay Fish” poster (click here to purchase one in our online shop) by local artist Debby Mason, which features all of the 50 species of fish and shellfish all on one poster.
Our Scavenger hunt hopes to deliver several benefits for the people who live and visit these vibrant coastal communities. First, we hope this hunt will help promote the local catches and the work of the fishing fleets in the local area to help sell more, locally. By sourcing locally, local businesses and the public receive a better-quality product, and the Fishermen take pride in knowing they are providing their local communities with their fish suppers. Second, we hope that residents and visitors will take the time during the hunt, to visit these shops and businesses to say hello, find out about the services or products they provide and help us stimulate the local economy by supporting these local businesses.
We will be launching another Scavenger Hunt in summer 2024. Please follow our social media channels (links at the top of the page) so you are kept up to date on the launch next summer. Be prepared for something ‘fishy’ going on!
We have been overwhelmed by the support of businesses across Lyme Bay who have been involved and hope that as well as helping the public learn more about the amazing species we have, that it also drove some footfall to these local businesses.
We are so grateful to local artist Debby Mason for allowing us to use her amazing artwork for this project, and for designing our fish poster. Click here to learn more about Debby’s work…
We are grateful to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for the funding we received to run this project via their Fisheries and Seafood Support (FaSS) scheme and for our match funders Blue Marine Foundation.
Click on an image to see the full poster.
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