He's cracked it: Meet The Lobster Man whose business took off thanks to lockdown

Stewart Pearson comes from a long line of lobster catchers who have been casting their creels off North Berwick’s coast for more than three centuries.

When the pandemic hit, the 45-year-old feared his business would be crushed with fraught negotiations on trade making the ride even more rough.

But, determined to not let this family business die out under his watch, the fisherman went from selling his catch to seafood merchants and restaurants to running his own lobster delivery and takeaway service.

Earning three times more per lobster than ever before Stewart, who is steering the ship with his partner Gemma Mccann, said he wishes he had made the transformation years ago.

“The new set up has really taken off,” he said, thrilled by his new business venture aptly called The Lobster Man.

“For years we’ve been shipping most of our catch to the continent with just a small percentage going to nearby restaurants, so it was scary when trading ceased during lockdown. But now we’re selling lobster dishes prepared by us locally and business has never been better.”

The move, however, has not been all plain sailing for Stewart and his family.

With trade ceasing overnight and a daughter, Molly, born at the start of lockdown, the lobster catcher had to think quickly on his feet.

“My first attempt to keep business going was to sell live lobsters to people via