Frequently asked questions

1. Are there other species of lobster than the American lobster?
   Yes, In fact there are two types of lobster. One being clawed lobsters which are European. Amongst these are the scampi and the crayfishes. The other, the clawless lobsters, are made up of spiny lobsters and Spanish lobsters.
   
2. As a predator, what does a lobster eat?
   It eats crabs, molluscs (mussels, clams, scallops) and echinoderms (starfishes, sea urchins). Sometimes, it may eat small fishes such as the capelins.
3. What are the predators of the lobster?
   While it is small, the lobster falls prey to many fishes such as the cod, the tench, the monk fish, the Atlantic wolfish, the ocean pout and the spiny dogfish. However, once it reaches adulthood it only falls prey to humans and grey seals.
   
4. How long have we been fishing lobsters in Gaspésie ?
   Lobster fishing seems to have started around the year 1800. At that time, the lobster was considered food for the poor and was used as agricultural fertilizer. It was only in 1870 that lobster became famous and of gained great value.
   
5. Is it true that females taste better than males?
   Nothing really proves that the female's flesh tastes better than male's. People often want females because they like eating their roe (the ovaries containing the eggs). However, males do have bigger claws.
6. How many eggs can a lobster lay?
   A few thousand, it all depends on the female's size. The bigger she is, the more egg she lays. However, the survival rate of these eggs is very low. For every 10 000 larvae, only a mere hundred will become adults.
   
7. What is the lifespan of a lobster?
   We can not tell for sure but we do know that lobsters can easily live for 50 years.
   
8. Does a lobster have a good eyesight?
   The lobster's eyes are very sensitive to light and can detect movements even at night. However, they lack the capacity to discern images clearly. In spite of its bad eyesight, the lobster has a keen sense of smell and detects vibrations through its antenna and multiple receptors throughout its body. Thanks to its antennas, it can orient itself by touch.
   
9. Is lobster being fished yearly?
   In the United States, yes. In Gaspésie, fishing starts around the end of April and ends in July.
   
10. How many licenses are there in Gaspésie?
    As of today, there are 207 lobster fishing active licenses in Gaspésie.
    
11. How heavy was the heaviest lobster caught?
    The heaviest lobster recorded so far weighted 44lbs and 6oz and was somewhere in between three and four feet long. It was fished in the Nova-Scotia area in 1977. Its estimated age was 100 years old.
    
12. Is lobster breeding possible?
    Breading methods, while mastered, are too expensive to be profitable. It takes just too long to the animal to reach the required size. Still, there are a few experimental farms that try to reduce development time and that are working on restocking.