A cash reward is being offered after 50 prime lobsters headed for a popular seafood stall on Oban’s Railway Pier were stolen.
John Ogden, owner of the Oban Seafood Hut, is offering £2,000 to anyone who can provide information leading to a conviction for the theft.
The green shack next to the CalMac ferry terminal is popular with locals and tourists, offering an array of delicacies including langoustines, mussels, oysters, prawns, cockles and smoked salmon.
But on Bank Holiday Monday it was hit by thieves who took off with the box containing the lobsters. They were worth a cost price of £500 but had a considerable mark up for the small local business.
Mr Ogden said: “We have been operating here for 25 years and have never had anything like this happen before. That is why we choose to live in Oban.
“It happened on Bank Holiday Monday and I suspect it was people visiting the town. I have a feeling it wasn’t just a normal tourist.
“I am hoping that some information will come forward which will help the police to make a conviction.
“The £2,000 is more than the lobsters were worth but I want to shake up whoever is responsible and put them off doing something like this again. We can’t be doing with this and want to let people know we are not a push over. We think we might have an idea who has taken them.
“Someone is going to talk, it’s a small town and we know a lot of the restaurants so have been asking around. If someone starts putting a lot of lobster on their menu, it will get noticed.
“I can’t tell you where we keep our lobsters but we store them in the Oban area. We buy them in from different boats. Luckily we had other lobsters to sell on Monday, we don’t put all of our eggs in one basket.
“These lobsters were bought from a Spanish buyer. They were prime lobsters, each weighing one pound. So if anyone has been offered lobsters at this size, please let us know.”
A police spokeswoman said: “There is an investigation under way. It is believed the lobsters were stolen some time between 3pm on Monday and 11am on Tuesday. Inquiries are ongoing.”
Anyone with any information about the theft is asked to contact Oban Police Station on 101 or Oban Seafood Hut on 07881 418565.
