Protecting Lobster from Ocean to Plate

by Sandra Dinsmore

Most people have no idea of the lobster’s fragility. Its hard shell, spines, and claws act to protect its delicate, highly perishable meat. Properly cared for, though, lobsters can live out of water for up to two days.

Because many in the lobster industry don’t understand the importance of handling and protecting these sensitive, expensive creatures every step of the way from ocean waters to the consumer’s platter, a group of Canadian lobster processors and fishermen’s organizations made a video dedicated to informing those who handle lobster how to better preserving lobster quality.

They hope to promote improved lobster handling practices and increase profits for harvesters and buyers. Although the film was made for industry members, its care and storage suggestions will also help the consumer choose the best quality lobster for his or her own use.

A strong, healthy, vigorous lobster will curl its tail when picked up; its claws will be in the air, ready to fight. A poor quality lobster will be dry, weak, and slow-moving; it may not have enough energy to flick its tail and it may not have all its legs or claws. Poor quality lobsters are referred to as culls and cost less than complete, healthy ones.

Each step in handling, from bringing the trap over the boat rail (gently, please: claws can stick out and break) and removing the lobster from the trap (again, gently grasping it by the body and placing, not throwing, it out of the sun, wind or other harsh weather), banding, storing on the vessel, and delivering the crated product to the buyer is shown briefly, but in good detail. Lobstermen, buyers, and fisheries scientists offer their observations and suggestions can help eliminate the three major problems that can lead to death, disease, dehydration and distress.

Lobsters may attract diseases through open wounds, broken shells, missing legs, and even broken or chewed antennae. According to Rick Cawthorn, Ph.D., of the AVC Lobster Science Center at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI).

“Any puncture in the shell is a port of entry for disease. It allows bacteria to enter the body,” said Cawthorn.

Not all industry members and few consumers realize how easily these ill-tempered, cannibalistic creatures succumb to stress, and stress leads to rapid deterioration and death.

Each lobster has twenty sets of feathery gills, which need constant bathing in well-oxygenated ocean water. If out of water, the lobster needs to be kept cool and wet. Keeping it cool slows the spread of disease and slows the need for oxygen. Keeping it wet protects the gills from dehydration. Tossing a lobster or handling it roughly causes distress and may cause damage to the shell. If left in the heat and dryness of the sun or in frigid, icy wind, it can drop a claw, can actually dismember itself.

As lobsterman Tim Malone, of Lower East Pubnico, Nova Scotia, says, “When there’s ice on the [boat’s] rail, I know I’ve got to put them in water right away because sometimes before, if I just threw them in a corner, I’d end up with a lot of dead lobster. It’s the opposite in spring,” he goes on. “If I leave them out on deck in the sun, they’ll smother.”

Lobsterman Donnie Strongman, of Alberton, PEI, says, “Sun and wind [lead to] lost fluid, which [leads to rapid] loss of body weight.” Loss of body weight means a lower price from the buyer.

When storing lobsters, make sure to place them belly down. Bellies are easily punctured and tend dry out more quickly. If more lobsters are being landed than can be immediately banded, try holding each in a PVC tube until banded. That way they can’t attack each other.

As for females carrying eggs on their tails, the film suggests flushing their gills with salt water and gently returning them to the water tail first.

For optimum storage, the film suggests total immersion in a properly designed water tank to eliminate water loss. Nocturnal creatures that they are, lobsters need a cool, dark, wet environment to imitate the ocean depths. Motionless, stagnant sea water does not sustain the lobster’s need for oxygen. Long-term storage requires feeding the lobster and testing its blood protein levels.

The Lobster Institute’s Robert Bayer, Ph. D., puts it simply and clearly, noting that most of the film’s suggestions are just common sense. Handle each lobster as you would an egg. Never throw or drop it. “Treat it as if you were handling a $5 or $10-dollar bill,” he says. “If you handle it carefully, it’ll make money for you.”

FMI: contact Nova Scotia Fisheries Sector Council via e-mail: NSFSC@klis.com, website: www.nsfsc.ca, phone:(902) 742-6167