Lobsters
Lobsters have been caught here since the Norman Conquest and there is much competition over their weighty numbers. The cold, fast-running water of the English Channel suits these ancient creatures. Left to their own devices, the European lobster, or Homarus gammarus if you prefer, can live for upwards of 80 years and fossil remains of 100 million years old have been unearthed, to make them the most resilient of our native crustaceans – a survival fact helped by their unique pincer movement of one claw for cutting and the other for crushing.
To catch them out, as it were, the local fishermen use hand-worked net ‘pots’ dropped on to the seabed – they are a constant feature along the foreshore and a frequent theme in local seascapes.
It is not illegal to catch a lobster; a man caught one recently with bare hands under the old pier at Brighton and was rewarded with a rather nice supper. But to catch more than two a day requires a licence and also a lot of skill and hard work.
In order to sustain stocks, legal lengths are put in place, and in Sussex waters the carapace (the body) needs to be a minimum of 3½in – this excludes the telson (tail) and the claws, which grow more than twice the size of the body. Obviously, the bigger the catch, the bigger the story and in the case of Lionel the 30lb lobster, it was a whopper.
Sold for £18 to Mark Little, the landlord at The Dolphin Inn opposite the beach. But just as he was about to raise the hammer blow, he looked at the sad eyes and couldn’t face it, so instead he took him down the road to the Blue Reef Aquarium. His regulars were fully behind him, even though it meant that lobster was off the menu that night. Lionel now lives in a rather nice tank, being hand-fed nibbles and has become something of a celebrity. Mark has a free pass to visit any time he likes, secure in the knowledge his quasi pet is safe.
Perhaps Mark wasn’t aware that lobsters are able to re-grow lost limbs, even eyeballs, or he might have been tempted to lob off a claw or two before giving him away. Still, it is a touching story and one that will appeal to those eating their way through some of Lionel’s lesser relatives next weekend at the annual seafood festival. But fear not, Lionel won’t mind, lobsters are also cannibals.
Next week: Do I need a fridge?
To catch them out, as it were, the local fishermen use hand-worked net ‘pots’ dropped on to the seabed – they are a constant feature along the foreshore and a frequent theme in local seascapes.
It is not illegal to catch a lobster; a man caught one recently with bare hands under the old pier at Brighton and was rewarded with a rather nice supper. But to catch more than two a day requires a licence and also a lot of skill and hard work.
In order to sustain stocks, legal lengths are put in place, and in Sussex waters the carapace (the body) needs to be a minimum of 3½in – this excludes the telson (tail) and the claws, which grow more than twice the size of the body. Obviously, the bigger the catch, the bigger the story and in the case of Lionel the 30lb lobster, it was a whopper.
Sold for £18 to Mark Little, the landlord at The Dolphin Inn opposite the beach. But just as he was about to raise the hammer blow, he looked at the sad eyes and couldn’t face it, so instead he took him down the road to the Blue Reef Aquarium. His regulars were fully behind him, even though it meant that lobster was off the menu that night. Lionel now lives in a rather nice tank, being hand-fed nibbles and has become something of a celebrity. Mark has a free pass to visit any time he likes, secure in the knowledge his quasi pet is safe.
Perhaps Mark wasn’t aware that lobsters are able to re-grow lost limbs, even eyeballs, or he might have been tempted to lob off a claw or two before giving him away. Still, it is a touching story and one that will appeal to those eating their way through some of Lionel’s lesser relatives next weekend at the annual seafood festival. But fear not, Lionel won’t mind, lobsters are also cannibals.
Next week: Do I need a fridge?