Keeping Lobsters Alive

[Dive Junky]

What is the best way to keep your bugs alive and fresh between dives? I would imagine putting them into a cooler or bucket with some salt water and sea grass/weed would work. I haven't got so lucky yet, but hope to! Thanks for the input.

LobstaMan

What they said. Bands on their claws is a good idea too. They don't really like each other much. Nasty lil canibals!!

 

[munromh]

On the boat we can keep them alive for a week in a big cooler on top of blocks of ice, just keep them out of the fresh water, and a damp towel over the top of them doesn't hurt either. BTW you'll notice sometimes bug bands are just to small to do the job, always carry electrical tape:

 

[Andyjo]

On the boat we can keep them alive for a week in a big cooler on top of blocks of ice, just keep them out of the fresh water, and a damp towel over the top of them doesn't hurt either. BTW you'll notice sometimes bug bands are just to small to do the job, always carry electrical tape:

Dude, that one in the middle is bigger than your leg :11:
I just use the blue freezer pack, they get all coma-ized after they get cold enough :blinking:

 

[munromh]

Lobster isn't really my thing, I'd rather bag brass or eat blue crabs, but I'll take one if the opportunity arises. The pictures do make for some good sea stories though. I've made a pact with myself to let the big females go and only keep the big males. If you want to see some more BIG lobster pictures you can find them here The BIG lobster page.

 

[lord1234]

if you live in the cape as the pictures at that website suggest, then those lobsters are WAYYYY outside of regulation size and could get you in some trouble...

 

[munromh]

They were taken on the outside of the Cape, not the Bay, were taken on a federal permit outside the three mile limit, and did fall within the permit requirements. We've been boarded by the CG while on site with some big guys in the cooler, and have had some interactions with the Greenies at the fuel dock in Saquatucket, all without any real problems. Thanks for pointing it out though.

 

[lord1234]

aaah ok. didn't know that...good deal then. does big lobster taste good?

 

[munromh]

I did a blind taste test using a 2 pounder and a 16 pounder once. I gave a piece of each to my friend’s wife, who loves lobster, and she couldn't tell the difference. If you really sat and thought about it while you were eating it you could tell a slight difference but it wasn't like night and day, it was a very subtle difference.

Like anything you eat, a lot of what determines the flavor, texture, and over all quality of the food depends on how it's taken care of before you prepare it, how you prepare it, and of course how you cook it. Not to mention the environment it's been raised in and the food it's eaten. Also different parts/cuts of the animal have different flavors and textures.

Anyway, I've had some pretty bad pound and a quarters .....

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Just curious-- how do people reconcile your love for the ocean and its living things with torturing living beings by locking them up in ice for days and let them die an agonizing death that lasts for days? If you must catch and eat creatures, you should kill them fast and humanely.

 

[munromh]

That is a good question, and not to duck it, but I think the answer is far to philosophical for typing in over a web forum and better discussed over a beer, or two.

However, I would venture a guess that the quality of life/care a captured lobster sees over its final days and its ultimate demise is far better then the quality of life terrestrial “protein for the masses” sees over it's entire life.