[jimbob]

Just finished Trevor Corson's book The Secret Life Of Lobsters. Interesting stuff. I'm not sure how much of the American Lobster's lifestyle relates to our lobsters but reading the book certainly made me appreciate the lobster encounters I've had. It also made me re-evaluate my opinion on lobster kidnap. I've never grabbed one myself, I don't mind others doing it, but I'd always assumed that from a sustainability point of view the bigger the better. I've even felt slightly "sniffy" about people appearing on boats with barely over the limit sized Lobsters. However, it seems that I'm a know nothing idiot.(It always surprises me that it surprises me) In the book there is an argument for a maximum landing size. Apparently the Female American Lobsters produce more eggs the bigger they get and the larger males are important for breeding. The dominant males grab the best shelters then "bully" all other lobsters in the area into submission and the females queue up to breed with it. Weird stuff, but made me feel slightly ashamed that I'd assumed big was best in the grabbing grabbers stakes. I had a look at the DEFRA website and was very surprised to see the same arguments that form the narrative of the book are taking place in Britain today. Anyway if you're interested in Lobsters it's well worth reading. Any book recommendations along similar lines would be much appreciated.