5 Ways Lobster is One of Our Most Sustainable Seafoods | As far back as the 1800’s our North American lobster has been sustainable. Let’s start using the word, ‘responsible’ instead.
Furthermore, Homarus Americanus is our North American species name. And it’s the industry that our economies from Maine to Newfoundland have thrived on for decades. Here is a list of some of the top reasons why the North American Lobster industry is one of the most, if not the most, responsible fishery in the world

5 Ways Lobster is One of Our Most Sustainable Seafoods

1. Traps; traps are made with an escape big enough to allow undersized lobsters to escape allowing the smaller lobsters (under the regulated size) to escape when they want.

2. Measuring size; fisherman have to measure every lobster that comes up in the trap. They measure the carapace (the body shell, that goes from the eye socket to where the tail begins). The regulation size in Maine is the carapace needs to be at least 3 1/4, and if under, or over 5″, it goes back. In Canada, most of the Licensed Fishing Areas (LFA) are about the same. However, in some LFA’s they have a larger size limit as well. Consequently, there are big fines for those carrying too large or too small on the boat.

3. Females lobsters; fisherman finding egg-bearing females make a “v notch” on the end of the tail to ensure when they come back up in the trap. They can quickly identify that its a female. This ensure and preserves the reproductive lifecycle of the females.

4. Quotas; the fishery regulates a limited number of licenses and also regulates limits on the number of traps.

5. Locations; Lobster fishermen will continue to fish out of Right Whale paths. Moreover, there are many detectors to show the movement of Right Whales. A matter which the United States and Canadian Coastguards are fully on top of. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that most Right Whale entanglements have occurred with NOAA vessels, with one incident in Canada years ago, and zero reported in Maine.