Would You Like to Have a Pet Lobster?
If you have been reading “My Encounters” for the last two weeks, you know about my vacation in Maine. One of the things Maine is famous for is lobster. Fishermen caught a total of 125,953,876 pounds of lobster in 2013. I felt prompted to write about it on an early morning walk to the Port of Portland. I was hoping to catch and photograph some action. Instead of finding boats unloading lobsters, I found barrels filled with dead fish covered with salt (apparently lobster season normally starts in June). Talking to locals, I learned that lobsters prefer dead salted red fish, herring or mackerel, which are used as bait. Those fish come from different states like New Jersey, packed into barrels and delivered to about 6,000 licensed lobstermen all over Maine. I found some intriguing information online on this site, “100 Fun Facts About Lobsters”. I learned that if a lobster is not caught (or released because it is already too big), it could grow up to four feet and weigh as much as 40 pounds. And, if it is very lucky, and has enough food at the bottom of the ocean, where they usually reside, lobster can live for over 100 years. Here are some additional fun facts I discovered: Lobsters were once considered the poor man’s chicken. They are a great source of protein and omega 3 fatty acids, and if you hold the butter, lobsters are not fattening. In Colonial times, lobster was fed to pigs and goats. Lobsters were once so plentiful that after storm, they would wash ashore in deep piles. Lobsters will, quite literally drown in fresh water. They are not very friendly, but some people do keep lobsters as pets. While reading this, I thought of a story.
A man bought a fish tank, filled it with sea water and placed a lobster inside it. His friend asked what his purpose was with the lobster. “Well, I heard that they live one hundred years. I would like to find out if this is true.” (In the original story the lobster was a turtle.)
P.S. Like other shellfish, lobsters are bottom feeders, and are not kosher according to the culinary requirements of Jewish Law. I do not eat lobsters, but while eating at the restaurant which serves them, I had a great opportunity to photograph them. The salmon I ordered, by the way, was quite delicious.
P.P.S. On Memorial Day, my wife suggested going to the movies. She gave me three choices. One of them was “The Lobster”. I chose this one because I thought I would have some insights for my story. This was the weirdest movie I’ve ever seen. It is labeled a “black comedy”, and it was too black for me.
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