By far the most valuable of all the edible Crustacea are the European and American Lobsters (Homarus gammarus and H. americanus). The former is found on the coasts of Europe from Norway to the Mediterranean, living mostly a short distance below low-water mark wherever the bottom is rocky. At some places, as for instance at Worthing, Lobsters are common on a sandy bottom, but as a rule they seem to prefer localities where the crevices of a rough hard bottom afford abundance of shelter. They are usually caught in traps known as "Lobster pots" or "creels," which vary in construction in different localities. In some cases they are made of wicker-work, hemispherical in shape, with a funnel-shaped opening on top, so devised as to permit the Lobsters to enter easily, while preventing their escape. Another form is semi-cylindrical, with a framework of wood covered with netting or with wooden spars, and having two funnel-shaped entrances at the sides. These traps are baited with pieces of fish, preferably stale, and are sunk in suitable places, each attached by a line to a buoy or float.
Important Lobster fisheries are carried on in Norway, Scotland, England, Ireland, Heligoland, and other parts of the coasts of Northern Europe. In the South the Lobster fishery is of less importance, other large Crustacea, especially the Spiny Lobster, being more abundant and more highly esteemed.
The American Lobster, as already mentioned, closely resembles the European species, the chief difference being in the form of the rostrum (see [Fig. 9], p. 32). It is found on the Atlantic coast from Labrador to Cape Hatteras, but it is not abundant south of New Jersey. The canning of Lobsters is a very important industry in Newfoundland, the Maritime Provinces of Canada, and the Northern New England States.
The only other species of the genus Homarus (H. capensis) is found at the Cape of Good Hope, but it is of small size and is of no economic importance.
The European Lobster rarely reaches a weight of 10 pounds, although individuals of 14 pounds weight have been caught. In America, there are authentic records of Lobsters weighing 20 and even 23 pounds.
The bad effects of over-fishing have become apparent of late years, especially on the American coast, in the reduced average size of the Lobsters caught rather than in a diminution of the total yield of the fishery. Numerous experiments in legislation have been made with a view to checking the depletion of the fishing-grounds, but in no case with conspicuous success. A "close time" for the spawning Lobsters has often been tried, but the fact that the female carries the eggs attached to her body for nearly a year after spawning makes it quite impossible to give effective protection by this means. In most Lobster-fishing districts a minimum size is fixed by law, below which it is illegal to take or sell Lobsters, and in many cases also the capture of females carrying spawn, or, as it is termed, "in berry," is prohibited.
PLATE XXX
THE "NORWAY LOBSTER," Nephrops norvegicus, ABOUT ONE-THIRD NATURAL SIZE