Lobsters are a superfood containing lean protein and omega-3 fatty acids that are beneficial for brain and heart health. They come in a variety of colors besides red, such as blue or yellow. In Maine, lobsters must be between 3 1/4 to 5 inches long to legally catch and sell. The northern lobster population is thriving while southern lobsters struggle with shell disease. Contrary to popular belief, lobsters do not mate for life and females can store sperm for two years before fertilizing their eggs externally.

1. 10. Lobsters are a super food.
Foster’s Down East Clambake in York, ME
(Img Cred: Boston University, Kristen M. Stivers)

2. 10. Lobsters are a super food.
Lobster meat contains a rich source of lean protein. A one-cup serving of
cooked meat contains 129 calories, 1.25 g of fat and 27.6 g of protein.
Lobsters also contain omega-3 fatty acids which help with brain function
and may lower risk of heart disease and other inflammatory diseases. Of
course, that goes out the window once you drown the meat in butter or
mayonnaise! Learn how to eat lobster here.

3. 9. Lobsters come in many colors.
Blue lobster caught in Massachusetts.
(Img Cred: Wikipedia, Adam Field)

4. 9. Lobsters come in many colors.
“Red as a lobster” refers only to cooked lobster. Lobsters have red
pigments bound to shell proteins that generally provide them with a
brownish color in the wild. The red pigment is called astaxanthin, and it
remains stable when exposed to heat. While the shell proteins break
down in a boiling pot, astaxanthin holds strong and makes the cooked
lobster bright red. However, live lobsters can have color variations such as
yellow or blue. New England Aquarium researchers feed their lobsters
special diets to keep their shells white. The lack of pigment in their
“dietary lobsters” helps them study shell disease.

5. 8. What size lobster can you catch?
Buddy Poland, Maine Lobsterman
(Img Cred: Boston University, Hillary Hoffman)

6. 8. What size lobster can you catch?
In Maine, for example, a “legal” lobster has a midsection, or
carapace, that measures between 3 ¼ inches and 5 inches. The one-
pound lobsters you order at a restaurant are about five to seven years
old. Fishermen who violate the rules or even try to mutilate the lobster
to disguise the size face stiff fines. Maine’s Department of Marine
Resources set the rules to ensure that each lobster caught for sale has
had at least one opportunity to mate, and that larger lobsters are left
alone to keep the population robust.

7. 7. Northern lobsters are booming.
Live Maine Lobsters
(Img Cred: Boston University, Hillary Hoffman)

8. 7. Northern lobsters are booming.
The populations in Maine and George’s Bank are thriving, while Southern
counterparts are in trouble. The Department of Marine Resources
reported that Maine lobstermen reeled in nearly 94.7 million pounds of
lobster in 2010, 12 million pounds more than the previous year. The
lobster population boom might be problematic. Fishermen are not only
over-fishing lobster predators like cod, but they are also feeding lobsters
with bait so they reach legal size sooner. Such fishing practices give lobster
an artificial advantage, throwing off the natural balance of the ocean
ecosystem.

9. 6. Southern lobsters struggle with disease.
Baby white lobster with shell disease
(Img Cred: Flickr, (Alex))

10. 6. Southern lobsters struggle with disease.
South of Cape Cod, lobsters exhibit problems with lobster shell disease.
Bacteria infect the lobster shell, form black spots and holes, dissolve the
calcium in their shells and make them ugly and unappetizing. The shell rot
weakens the lobster’s immune system, warps shell, and hinders molting
and growth. If the shell rots completely, the disease kills the lobster. While
researchers know the disease is not contagious between the lobsters, the
ultimate cause of the disease remains unclear.

11. 5. Lobsters don’t mate for life.
Do not disturb the lobsters
(Img Cred: Wikipedia, Phrontis)

12. 5. Lobsters don’t mate for life.
Contrary to popular opinion, lobsters cohabitate for a short period of time
while the female lobster sheds her shell in a process called molting. She
approaches a male lobster shortly before she molts and he keeps and
protects her in his lair while she sheds and regrows her shell. About a half
hour after she sheds, the fully-shelled male lobster gently turns over her
floppy, naked body and inseminates her with a sperm packet called a
spermatophore. She remains in his dwelling for a few days until she
regenerates a new shell.

13. 4. Females fertilize eggs later.
Female lobster with eggs
(Img Cred: Wikipedia, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

14. 4. Females fertilize eggs later.
A female can store sperm packets in her body for up to two years after she
mates with a male. She fertilizes her eggs externally. The eggs remain
protected under her folded tail for up to a year. Lobsters can carry
between 8,000 – 100,000 eggs! (Larger lobsters carry more eggs). The
female lobster flicks and releases her eggs away from her tail when they
are ready to hatch. However, only 0.1% of these eggs reach adulthood.

15. 3. Lobsters communicate by smell.
Lobster antennules
(Img Cred: Wikipedia, Postdlf)

16. 3. Lobsters communicate by smell
Lobster pheromones travel easily through water. Some of these
pheromones are released in their urine while fighting. Lobsters smell the
pheromones by flicking antennules located in the front of their heads. By
sensing these urine pheromones, lobsters can identify social and
biological characteristics like dominance and molting state. Such social
and biological characteristics also aid with mate selection.

17. 2. Lobsters have teeth in their stomachs.
Live Maine lobster
(Img Cred: Boston University, Hillary Hoffman)

18. 2. Lobsters have teeth in their stomachs.
Lobsters crush their food with their larger “crusher” claw, pull food apart
with their smaller “ripper” claw, and “taste” with the sensors on their first
set of legs, before they swallow their food. They chew their food with a
set of teeth, called a gastric mill, which resemble human molars. The mill
is composed of three teeth that squeeze, cut, and grind their food.

19. 1. Lobsters don’t age.
Lobster molting still from video
(Img Cred: Flickr, CaptJoe06)

20. 1. Lobsters don’t age.
Larger lobsters equate to older lobsters; they grow each time they molt.
Cape Tip Fish and Market in Truro, Mass. recently caught and released a
22-pound lobster that they estimated to be 80 years old. Lobsters show
few signs of aging and their potential lifespan is unknown. In most
animals, genetic material degrades after each cell division, which causes
aging and slows growth. Lobsters, however, have a rich source of the
enzyme telomerase which protects their genetic material during cell
division. Abundant stores of telomerase exist in multiple types of lobster
tissue, so the lobster keeps growing. Some researchers speculate that
lobsters’ rich source of telomerase may help them regenerate lost limbs.
(Special thanks to Joey Ciamataro from the GoodMorningGlouster blog for
photo permission).