It takes lobsters an average of 5 to 7 years (depending on the water temperature) to grow to legal size, and they grow more slowly as they get larger. Therefore a lobster that weighs 3 pounds is an estimated 15-20 years old, and a 25 pound lobster would be approximately 75-100 years old.
Lobsters don't have vocal cords, and even if in agony, they cannot vocalise. The high pitched sound made by an overheating lobster is caused by expanding air rushing out of small holes in lobsters' bodies, like a whistle being blown. A dead lobster will “scream” just as loudly as if it was living.
Canadian lobster suppliers capitalise on this to distribute fresh lobsters to consumers. Hence, most lobsters in supermarkets are Canadian lobsters. Canadian lobster prices are much lower than the prices of Maine lobster because the latter has a higher demand with people raving about it.
A Norwegian study from 2005 concluded the opposite: lobsters do not have brains, so they do not feel pain. However, most consumers still don't see it that way. Lobsters inspire more compassion than chicken, pigs, or other fish because it is one of the few foods that urbanites have to kill themselves when cooking.
The world's largest recorded lobster was a 44-pounder (20-kg) caught off Nova Scotia in 1977, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Maine lobstermen hauled in a record 100 million pounds (45.4 tonnes) of lobsters last year, due in part to overfishing of predators such as haddock, cod and monkfish.
The lobsters' longevity may be connected to the behaviour of their DNA. The long chromosomes in animal cells have special tips on their ends, called telomeres, that help protect the DNA. In other words, American lobster cells apparently don't age in a normal way, making the lobsters biologically immortal.
Choose a Hard-shell LobsterHard-shell lobsters ship well because they are stronger and hardier. Equally important, hard shell lobsters have more meat and better texture.
Worms (4-8 mm long) feed on eggs of lobsters and can cause up to 100% egg loss and overgrowth with epibionts when present in high intensities (> 4, but several hundred can occur on a single lobster) during the early stages of egg incubation.
About 122,000 t of lobsters are caught in the north Atlantic Ocean (FAO Fishing Areas 21 and 27), where the dominant species are Homarus americanus and Nephrops norvegicus. The State of Maine accounts for 57,000 t of Homarus americanus landings valued at $450 million.
Soft shell lobsters are abundant during the summer months and they can't be shipped so they are at a much lower price point than hard shell lobsters.
Adult lobsters do not swim. They crawl by using their walking legs and by contracting and retracting their tail. However, lobster larvae that have not settled to the bottom yet float through the ocean with the water current. As they grow older they swim with the use of their swimmerets and walking legs.
Lobsters are harvested year-round in Maine and New Hampshire. However, the majority are caught between late June and late December when the lobsters are the most active. Lobsters are also harvested during the winter and early spring months, but in smaller quantities.
Cod are the lobster's primary enemy, followed by other fish that cruise the ocean floor for food. Tench, flounder, sculpin, wolffish, ocean pout, monkfish, eels, rock gunnels, dogfish and crabs are known to eat young lobsters when given the chance.
A lobster that has lost one claw or has any missing appendage is called a cull. Lobsters can grow back new claws, legs and antennae. Back to the top. What is the red stuff you find inside along the tail of cooked lobster?
The major difference between a Maine lobster and a rock lobster is the size of the claw and antenna, On a rock lobster, the antenna is much larger, while the claw is pretty much nonexistent. The benefit is that the tail has more meat than the Maine lobster. These lobsters are found in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.
Lobsters continually grow larger and larger, but their shells can't change size, meaning a lifetime of ditching too-small shells and growing a brand-new exoskeleton each time. That takes a fair amount of energy.
Lobsters can swim forward and backward. When they're alarmed, they scoot away in reverse by rapidly curling and uncurling their tails. Because its nervous system is similar to that of grasshoppers and ants, lobsters are sometimes called “bugs.”
If you have eaten crabs and other crustaceans in your life, know that lobster tastes exactly like a cross between a crab and a shrimp. Its meat is firm, yet smooth and soft to the bite, all at once.
Spoiled lobster will often present itself with an unpleasant ammonia smell or with a soft, cottage-cheese-like consistency. That's the short and sweet. If you detect an ammonia smell in your lobster meat, chances are good that the meat has spoiled and should not be eaten.
The Gulf of Maine, home to 250 million lobsters, a place more densely populated with them than anywhere else in the world, is warming faster than 99.9 percent of the world's oceans. At first the warmer waters created ideal conditions for lobsters, who have multiplied in the favorable environment.
During the early 1800s, lobsters were so plentiful that they used to wash ashore in piles up to 2-feet high. Because of their abundance lobsters were used to feed slaves, as the meat was cheap and easy to prepare. Today, lobster meat is revered as a delicacy and perceived as a luxury food item.
Avoid eating lobster brains - unless you know you can handle it. "You can eat the body of the lobster, but if you're out on a date and you haven't done it before, I'd advise that you don't. Don't eat it unless you know you like it or you'll risk looking rather foolish."
The exact waters that the lobster is caught in can influence the taste, because of diet and temperature, but they are always considered superior to Rock lobster. The Maine Lobster is either steamed whole in the shell, or roasted.
The experience of dining on a railcar or enjoying seafood far from a coast helped turn lobster into a luxury dish. Overfishing at the beginning of the 20th century drove prices up, as did conservation laws in the mid-20th century. Long-term, the supply of lobster has been going up.
Fresh 1.5lb Maine Lobsters
| Company | Min. Order | Price/Lobster* |
|---|
| Lobster Anywhere | 1 | $32.95 |
| The Crab Place | 2 | $47.71 |
| Sanders Lobster | 2 | $44.50 |
| Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound | 2 | $46.88 |
Scientists for the first time have figured out how to determine the age of a lobster — by counting its rings, like a tree. Nobody knows how old lobsters can live to be. Some people estimate their age extends beyond 100 years.
The average salary of a lobster fisherman often varies by region. According to the job site Indeed, the average salary of a lobster fisherman in Florida is $40,000 per year; $37,000 per year in Maine; $33,000 in Alaska; $47,000 in California; and $51,000 per year in Massachusetts.
If you are throwing a large lobster bake or want to keep cost per person affordable, your best bet is to start with 1 ¼ lb. (550-650g) lobsters, also know as “quarters”. These lobsters are a good size and are usually more plentiful than the larger lobsters.
