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St. Lawrence Observatory-Observatoire du Saint-Laurent
Frequently Asked Questions
 
Sometimes the tail of cooked lobster is filled with a black, slimy substance. What is it and is the lobster good anyway?
This black substance is made of eggs that were resorbed. The female was caught when she was about to lay her eggs. Instead of being laid, eggs were liquefied (the vitello-proteins in the eggs were re-circulated in the blood, giving it a black color). It is not very appetizing, but the lobster is good nevertheless. It simply needs to be rinsed.
 
Is it true that females are better tasting than males?
It has not really been proven whether the taste of male or female flesh is different. People often want females because they like to eat the coral (ovaries that contain eggs) that is found in the abdomen. On the other hand, adult males have a larger crusher claw than females.
 
How do we distinguish a male from a female?
By looking at the first pair of swimmerets. The male has large, hard and whitish swimmerets, whereas the female swimmerets are small and soft (see the anatomy section for a picture).
 
Why do lobsters turn red when they are cooked?
The color of the carapace is made up of a basic pigment (red), which is associated to other pigments. When heated, the pigments associated to red change and their binding is destroyed. The red pigment is thus released. It is not altered by heat and gives a beautiful red color to cooked lobster. The albino lobster remains white when it is cooked because it does not have color pigment.
 
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How many eggs can a lobster lay?
Between a few thousand and several tens of thousands, according to the size of the female. The bigger the female is, the more eggs it lays. However, the survival rate is very low. Of 10,000 larvae, approximately only one will become an adult lobster.
 
How old are lobsters we buy at a fish market?
It is difficult to establish the exact age of a lobster. The rate at which it grows depends on water temperature. The warmer the water is, the quicker it grows. In the Magdalen Islands, lobsters reach their commercial size at about 8 years of age.
 
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How long can a lobster live?
We don’t know the maximum age of lobsters. However, they can live for more than 50 years.
 
What do lobsters eat?
Lobsters are predators. They feed on shellfish, sea urchins, crabs, weak fish, marine worms, etc. They also feed on dead animals that they come across. (See section Predator and prey: who eats who?)
 
How fast do lobsters move?
Generally, lobsters move slowly by walking on the bottom. However, when they are in danger and have to flee, they can swim backwards quickly by curling and uncurling their abdomen. A speed of 5 metres/second has already been recorded.
 
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Do lobsters have good eyesight?
Lobster eyes are very sensitive to light and can detect movement even at night. However, they do not see clear images. To compensate for their weak eyesight, lobsters are very sensitive to odours and vibrations they picked up using their antennas and several receptors on their bodies. These large antennas help them find their way around mostly through touching.
 
How are lobsters caught?
Lobsters are caught using traps baited with dead fish (see section Fishery and management).
 
Are lobsters caught year-round?
In the United States, yes. In Québec, the fishery begins when the ice is gone and ends in July. In other areas of Canada, the fishery begins in November.
 
Are both claws on a lobster identical?
No. Lobsters have two claws that have different functions. There is a crusher claw, which has large "teeth" that enable them to break prey carapace or shell, and a cutter claw that has several little "teeth" that allow them to tear or cut prey flesh.
 
Are there any reference books about lobster?

 Suggested reading:
  • Factor, J.R. (editor). 1995. Biology of the lobster, Homarus americanus. Academic Press, New York. 528 p.
  • Herrick, F.H. 1895. The American Lobster: a study of its habits and development. Bulletin of the U.S. Fisheries Commission 15: 1-252.
  • Phillips, B.F., J.S. Cobb and J. Kittaka (editors). 1994. Spiny lobster management. Fishing News Books, Oxford. 550 p.
  • Taylor, H. 1975. The lobster: its life cycle. Sterling Publishing Co., New York. 80 p.
  • Williams, A.B. and I. Dore. 1988. Lobsters of the world: an illustrated guide: lobsters of the world in U.S. trade. Osprey Book, Huntington, New York. 186 p.
Are there other Internet sites about lobster?

 Suggested links (see Important Notices):
Information on nutritional value, conservation and consumption
Reviewed: 2005-10-19 Top of Page Important Notices