Lobster types

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Spectre once bubbled...


Right... That's all managed by the individual states Division of Marine Fisheries... it's not federal.

Also, with the current minimum for bugs in MA being 3 11/32, we're still pulling ones that are right about a lb and sometimes smaller. 1/32 difference isn't going to make a full 1/4 lb. But it's all still based on size and not weight.

And that's why I said what I did, thanks spectre for clearing it up for me.
 
on a different tack, who likes which kind of lobster the best for eating, I think the maines are great up to about a pound and a half but much bigger than that and the meat starts getting mushy. I prefer the spiny lobsters in general.

also what about australian lobsters, big tails on those
 
montereydivemas once bubbled...
on a different tack, who likes which kind of lobster the best for eating, I think the maines are great up to about a pound and a half but much bigger than that and the meat starts getting mushy. I prefer the spiny lobsters in general.

also what about australian lobsters, big tails on those

I have'nt had enough Maine Lobster to make a judgement and that should be a sin. I mainly have only had Spiny Lobsters and I know I love them!

Anyone ever heard of The Black Australian Lobster? That is my step-mothers favorite. I had never heard of them until I asked my father today what his favorite is.
 
DEEPSEAWOLF once bubbled...

Has anyone heard of a blue lobster? I've seen pix of them, similar to the big clawed Maine Lobby, but no explanations of why they are different colors.


I think the blue ones are from an area near France and are supposed to be very tasty (and expensive) Of course, I learned this from Food TV!
 
mjnansen once bubbled...



I think the blue ones are from an area near France and are supposed to be very tasty (and expensive) Of course, I learned this from Food TV!

Nah, The blue ones are actually a fluke. Kind of like an Albino Deer. Except more rare. I've read anywhere from 1 in 2 million to 1 in 20 million. I've seen some TV shows on them too. Pretty cool. But, it wouldn't suprise me if the French were saying they had Blue Lobsters.
 
From Encyclopedia Britannica.....


any of numerous marine crustaceans (order Decapoda) constituting the families Homaridae (or Nephropsidae), true lobsters; Palinuridae, spiny lobsters, or sea crayfish; Scyllaridae, slipper, Spanish, or shovel lobsters; and Polychelidae, deep-sea lobsters. All are marine and benthic (bottom-dwelling), and most are nocturnal. Lobsters scavenge for dead animals but also eat live fish, small mollusks and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates, and seaweed. Some species, especially of true and spiny lobsters, are commercially important.

The lobster has a rigid, segmented body covering (exoskeleton) and five pairs of legs, one or more pairs of which are often modified into pincers (chelae) with the chela on one side usually larger than that on the other. The eyes are on movable stalks, and there are two pairs of long antennae. Several pairs of swimming legs (swimmerets) are on the elongated abdomen. A flipper-like tail is used for swimming; flexure of the tail and abdomen propel the animal backward.

The true lobsters (Homaridae) have claws on the first three pairs of legs, with very large claws on the first pair. They have a distinct rostrum, or snout, on the carapace, which covers the head and thorax, or midsection. The American lobster (Homarus americanus) and the Norway lobster, also known as Dublin Bay prawn and scampi (Nephrops norvegicus), are the most valuable and are often marketed alive; the heavily muscled abdomen and claws are the parts eaten. True lobsters are found in all but polar seas and the greater depths. H. gammarus, the European lobster, a dark greenish animal, occurs on rocky bottoms of the European Atlantic coast and the Mediterranean Sea. H. capensis, of the waters around South Africa, grows to 10 or 13 cm (4 to 5 inches) and is of little commercial value.

H. americanus, found in waters from Labrador to North Carolina, sometimes dwells in shallow water but is more abundant in deeper water down to 200 fathoms (1,200 feet [366 m]). Lobsters caught in shallow water weigh about 0.45 kg (about one pound) and are about 25 cm (about 10 inches) long. They are caught usually in lobster pots—cages baited with dead fish. In deeper water, they weigh about 2.5 kg (about 5.5 pounds) and are often caught by trawling. Exceptionally large specimens may weigh 20 kg (40 pounds). The American lobster is often marketed alive. It is commonly blackish green or brownish green above and yellow orange, red, or blue underneath. The red colour of lobsters is caused by immersion in hot water.

Females are ready to lay eggs when about five years old. Sperm are transferred from males to females in summer, but fertilization does not occur until spring. A female lays 3,000 or more eggs, which remain attached to her swimmerets until they hatch several months later. Unlike adults, the young, about 1 cm (0.4 in.) long, swim freely for about 12 days and then descend to the bottom, where they remain. Some lobsters may live for 50 years. Young lobsters are preyed upon especially by dogfish, skates, and cod. The principal enemy of the adult lobster is man.

Unlike true lobsters, spiny lobsters (Palinuridae), so called because of their very spiny bodies, do not have large claws. Usually only the abdomen is eaten and is marketed as lobster tail. The antennae are strongly developed. Most species live in tropical waters; Palinurus elephas, however, is found from Great Britain to the Mediterranean Sea. Two palinurid species are commercially important in America: Palinurus interruptus, the California spiny lobster of the Pacific coast, and P. argus, the West Indian spiny lobster, from Bermuda to Brazil. P. interruptus attains lengths of about 40 cm (16 inches); P. argus about 45 cm (18 inches). Jasus lalandei, the commercially important South African rock lobster, occurs in waters around South Africa.

The mainly tropical slipper lobsters (Scyllaridae) are rather flat and clawless, with antennae flattened into broad plates. Most species are short and small and of little economic importance. Deep-sea lobsters (Polychelidae) are soft, weak animals with claws; some are blind. None is commercially important.
 

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