Maine Lobster: Fun Facts about This Delicious Crustacean | Geddy’s
In the Colonial era, lobsters were both abundant and large–up to 4 feet long. The prospect of a lobster large enough to ride a roller coaster is both alarming and fascinating.
The Maine lobster, known also as the American lobster, remains an intriguing creature of the sea. Keep reading to learn 12 fascinating facts about this famous crustacean.
Surprising Maine Lobster Facts
We all know lobsters are delicious, but how many of these lobster facts did you already know? You might be surprised.
1. Probability Of A Blue Lobster in Maine
You’re more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to find a blue lobster. Only one in every two million lobsters is blue.
The blue hue–cobalt, in lobsters–is caused by a genetic defect.
If you happen to get a blue lobster or know someone who gets one, you might consider giving it to an aquarium. And then go and buy a lotto ticket, because the odds are definitely in your favor.
2. Odds Of Maine Lobster Fertility
Only one out of every two female lobsters is fertile. But for those females who can pass their genes onto the next generation, they’re given a lifetime stay of execution.
When a female lobster bearing eggs–and she might have as many as 100,000–is found, her tail is notched with a V and she’s sent back to the sea to reproduce.
No one in the lobster industry would take a reproducing female out of the ocean and harvest her. After all, why harvest one lobster when that lobster can produce so many more?
Incidentally, reproducing female lobsters are often referred to as berried lobsters because their eggs look like berries.
3. Speaking Of Lobster Sex
Lobster sex can determine which parts of the crustacean are meatier.
Want more tail meat? Order a female.
If you like claw meat best, order a male next time you visit a Maine lobster restaurant.
If you think about it, it makes sense. Male lobsters constantly need to fight for dominance over a group of females.
Female lobsters carry their eggs on their tails, so a broader tail is genetically favorable.
4. Maine Lobsters Swim In The Fountain Of Youth
Not really, but they can potentially be immortal. Their cells, unlike human cells, don’t age.
Instead, lobsters molt. Given the opportunity–that is, endless food supply, proper water temperatures, and freedom from predators (including us)–lobsters could live infinitely.
They’ll just keep molting and growing bigger. Among the biggest lobsters, caught in 2008, George was harvested from the sea along the Newfoundland coast.
At an estimated 140 years old, George weighed 20 pounds when he was caught.
In addition to immortality, they can also regrow limbs.
5. Slow Weight Gain for Maine Lobsters
It can take up to seven years for Maine lobsters to grow to the legal harvesting weight of one pound. In that time, a lobster will molt 25 times.
Lobsters weighing more than four pounds are considered too big to be harvested from the sea. This means if a lobster manages to avoid capture until that point, it could potentially vie for the title of largest lobster with George…in about 150 years.
6. Maine Lobsters: Emoji Style
When the lobster emoji was created, it only had three pereiopods or sets of walking legs. In fact, the Maine lobster has four.
The emoji was fixed for accuracy after feedback from residents of Maine and local politicians. By its release, the lobster emoji had the requisite number of legs.
7. Lobsters Are Cannibals
We doubt they’d go for fava beans and a nice Chianti, but lobsters will eat each other. Maybe this is the reason they didn’t take over the world before we started harvesting them from the waves?
In addition to chowing down on each other, lobsters also dine on sea urchins, crabs, clams, mussels, and fish.
8. Lobsters Aren’t Just From Maine
The lobster species known as Maine or American lobster is plentiful in Maine but can be found anywhere along the North Atlantic coast, from Canada to as far south as North Carolina.
The reason they’re known as Maine lobsters though is Maine provides more than half of the United States’ lobsters.
9. Maine Lobster Triple Crown
Lobsters were hugely important to First Nations people. They had three main uses for these crucial crustaceans:
- They ate lobsters after wrapping them in seaweed and cooking them on hot rocks.
- They used lobsters as hunting bait.
- They fertilized their crops with lobsters.
The many uses lobsters were put to probably has something to do with our next fact…
10. Lobsters Were Everywhere in Maine
Well, maybe not everywhere, but during the Colonial era, they were certainly plentiful. They would pile up on the beach.
Lobsters were so readily available that they weren’t thought of as a delicacy back then. Think of them more like the chicken of the Colonial era (though we doubt anyone went around saying everything else tasted like lobster).
In fact, lobsters are named like chickens: males are called cocks and females are called hens.
During the Colonial era, lobsters were common fare among the poor, children, and slaves.
11. Clear Blood in Lobsters
You’ve heard of blue blood in royals, but have you heard of clear blood? Lobster blood doesn’t have any color.
When they’re cooked through, their blood becomes opaque.
12. This Town’s Not Big Enough For The Both Of Them
Maine lobsters aren’t the only kind of lobster you can eat. You can also order what’s known as the rock lobster, or spiny lobster.
There’s one problem with this lesser lobster though: You can only order the tail.
The fact is, the rest of the crustacean isn’t really worth eating. So if you want a complete lobster experience, we recommend going for a full Maine lobster.
Ready To Chow Down on Maine Lobster?
The best way to enjoy Maine lobster is at a restaurant. Unless you’re in the business of catching lobsters, you can’t exactly pull them from the sea yourself.
And preparing lobster at home, while not difficult, isn’t as fun as going out to a restaurant with family or friends. Besides, if you choose the right local restaurant, you can get the freshest, most succulent lobster.
For the best Bar Harbor lobster experience, visit us at Geddy’s seafood restaurant! Pick your own Maine lobster straight from the live lobster tank … and learn more about Maine’s famous crustacean. Come enjoy this popular delicacy … and New England tradition – the American lobster, that is!
Cheers from Geddy’s, 🙂
Heather
