Is there a season for lobster?Legally, lobster fishermen may fish year round. However, most fishermen either do not fish in the winter, or they fish for other products such as shrimp and sea clams. Lobsters are least expensive in the summer when there are many people fishing and soft-shell lobsters are available.

How big do lobsters grow?
The largest lobsters that we know of or have seen have weighed 35 to 40 pounds. There have been lobsters known to be caught up to 45 LBS. Extra large lobsters usually find their way to museums or aquariums for future generations to enjoy.

How old is the oldest lobster?
It's hard to tell what the oldest lobster is since they shed their shells at least once a year. The shell is the only way to gauge the exact age of a lobster. Although only speculation, some believe that lobsters in unfarmed areas can reach as much as 20 years in age. These areas can be as far out as 30 miles off the coast of Maine. The combination of rocky coast and strong wave action help keep this purification process in check. This is one reason why lobsters from Maine are the sweetest and most succulent in the world.

How long does it take for them to grow?
It takes lobsters an average of 5 to 7 years (depending on the water temperature) to grow to legal size, and they grow more slowly as they get larger. Therefore a lobster that weighs 3 pounds is approximately 15-20 years old, and a 25-pound lobster would be approximately 75-100 years old.

Why are lobster shells different colors?
Lobsters have different pigments in their shells and come in a variety of colors. Fishermen have been known to bring in blue, yellow, red and spotted live lobsters. Usually, when lobsters are hard-shelled, their shells are a darker color. Also, when you cook hard-shell lobsters, their shells will turn a brick red color and sometimes black, whereas soft-shelled lobsters, when cooked, are a bright red color.

What is the green stuff inside of the lobsters?
It is known as tomale (or tomalley) and it is the liver of the lobster. Many people consider it a delicacy and use it for flavoring. You will sometimes find a waxy red substance in the tomale, this is the roe (also known as coral) and it is edible as well.

How many lobsters does it take to make a pound of lobster meat?
It depends on the type and size of the lobsters used. Generally, it takes either 5 to 6 pounds of soft-shell lobsters or 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 pounds of hard-shell lobsters to make a pound of lobster meat. In the summer months, lobsters shed their shells so that they can grow. Once the lobsters have shed their old shells, there are new, softer shells underneath. These shells will harden over the course of time and as the water gets colder. Since the lobsters shed their shells in order to have room for growth the following year, there is less meat inside a soft-shell lobster than there is in a hard-shell lobster of the same size. Even though there is less meat in soft-shells than in hard-shells, many people prefer the taste of the soft-shells. They are considered sweeter and tenderer than hard-shells.

Lobstermen have a language all their own. Stump your students with lobster riddles, with vocabulary words drawn from the trade books, such as,
What do you call a female lobster? .......A hen.
When is a lobster a chicken? .....When it weighs about one pound.
When is a lobster a pistol? .......When it has no claws.
Why wouldn't a lobsterman with shorts on want to meet a marine patrol officer? .......He has lobsters that don't meet the the legal size.
Why shouldn't a lobster walk into the kitchen? ......It's the first chamber of a lobster trap.

How can you tell a male from a female?
The swimmerets, the small feathery appendages on the underside of the tail, will provide the answer. The first pair of swimmerets closest to the body are hard and bony on a male, and soft and feathery like the rest of the swimmerets, on a female. Only the female has a small rectangular shield between her second pair of walking legs. This is the sperm receptacle where she stores the sperm after mating until she lays her eggs. A female also has a wider tail than a comparably-sized male. She needs the breadth for carrying all those eggs.

How big is a lobster's brain?
Dave Dow, former Director of the Lobster Institute, claims a lobster has a brain the size of a grasshopper's. The lobster brain is primarily just a collection of ganglia, or nerve endings.
It's evident from the lobster brain's lack of complexity that a lobster does not do much deep thinking, adding support to lobstermen's claims that lobsters probably do not feel pain, certainly not in the way humans do.
Diagrams furnished courtesy Maine/New Hamphire Sea Grant Program. Used with permission.How do you hypnotize a lobster?
To hypnotize a lobster, stand it on its head with its claws laid out in front of it and its tail curled inward. Rub your hand up and down the carapace making sure to rub between the eyes. Eventually it may stand by itself. (Whoever thought of this must have been really starved for excitement.)

Why are lobsters banded?
Crowded into tight quarters, lobsters become especially cannibalistic, which is why they must be banded in a lobster pound or store displays.
Lobster bands are small and strong. Lobster harvesters use a special tool that resembles a pair of pliers to open the rubber band to slip it over the lobster's claw