In the news

[Herpervet]

Mods: Feel free to move this if its not appropriate. Not really reef related but I think its a sad story.

Interesting how the fish market guy says the Lobster died from the move. What about the week it spent in holding at his store?

I love the taste of lobster but its truely a tragedy to kill such an old creature regardless of the species IMO.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7077221/?GT1=6305

[dad300]

To be honest.... it probably was from the move.... I run a seafood department where we sell some big ones... 12- 15lbs +++ when I can get them. IF they transported it in a warm container the move to the aquarium could have easily killed it. the bigger they are the more oxygen etc they use and the more waste they create. the other thing about these big ones is that they can't hold their body weight up easily without water. so if he was out of water for a longish period of time he may actually have crushed some internal organs because he had nothing to support his flesh. Thus causing his death.
One would hope that the Aquarium knew that but.... well you know how it is at a pet store...

[Herpervet]

Ya know you could be right but were not talking about a pet store but a public aquarium run by professionals. I would doubt they shipped it out of water or in warm water but who knows.

Personally I think taking the old ones out of the ocean is a crime. I love the taste but I wouldn't eat one this large.

What do you know about Orange Roughy? I had heard years ago that these fish were at risk because of harvest practices and their natural history. (something about their age and reproduction i.e. they might be very old...) Any insight?

[dad300]

Orange roughy is a deeeeep water fish.. around 10,000 feet if I recall correctly. It became a very popular fish in the 80's and early 90's and was over fished. it is now, as I understand it, relativley rare. Pricing reflects that. It can be had here in the states but is generally a flash frozen product. the reproductive habits I'm not sure of but... because of the depth of where the fish live I would assume that reproduction would be slow... I'll have to look at it again and see what I can find out.

[stlmustangz]

I agree that the old & oversize lobsters should be left alone where they belong.In the ocean..They lived that long & produced thousands of offspring.Man to live that long then be killed by some "scientist" helping to save his life..????

[Dan Palacios]

Not all public aquariums are equal when i comes to livestock. The Texas State Aquarium in Corpus had mass fish die offs in some exhibits. They over medicated "Island of Steel" tank twice. I can not recall how many fishes they lost but they lost more the first incident than the second incident. They also lost all of the livestock except two rays the Shark lagoon exhibit. It has since been renamed Stingray lagoon. A classmate that worked there often joked, that the workers at the Subway in the food court makes more money than they do in the aquarium. The aquarium relies mostly on volunteers.

[phil519]

Originally posted by Dan Palacios
Not all public aquariums are equal when i comes to livestock. The Texas State Aquarium in Corpus had mass fish die offs in some exhibits. They over medicated "Island of Steel" tank twice. I can not recall how many fishes they lost but they lost more the first incident than the second incident. They also lost all of the livestock except two rays the Shark lagoon exhibit. It has since been renamed Stingray lagoon. A classmate that worked there often joked, that the workers at the Subway in the food court makes more money than they do in the aquarium. The aquarium relies mostly on volunteers.

Totally agree with this statement. Just because the place is "an aquarium" to me doesn't mean anything. It could mean one very bright, intelligent scientist who has her/his hands full and has no time to waste on a 22# lobster and sends his/her assistants/volunteers to get it. Furthermore one who has a degree in marine biology is not the same as say, a dr. ron who has a degree in invertebrate zoology.

As it is, I totally find the "move" to be the likely culprit in bubba's demise - but who knows? If you're a fisherman trying to make a living and haul out a 22# lobster and have a buyer for it - would you toss it back? I know it's easy for us to say we would, but sometimes financial pressures trump responsible fishing.

[kirei]

I wish I could've eaten that lobster

[Herpervet]

Originally posted by stlmustangz
I agree that the old & oversize lobsters should be left alone where they belong.In the ocean..They lived that long & produced thousands of offspring.Man to live that long then be killed by some "scientist" helping to save his life..????

Um. I think the point is missed here. Taking an animial out of the ocean is where the problem is.

This animal was destined for a pot of boiling water so where was the harm in trying to save it?

[Herpervet]

Originally posted by phil519
Totally agree with this statement. Just because the place is "an aquarium" to me doesn't mean anything. It could mean one very bright, intelligent scientist who has her/his hands full and has no time to waste on a 22# lobster and sends his/her assistants/volunteers to get it. Furthermore one who has a degree in marine biology is not the same as say, a dr. ron who has a degree in invertebrate zoology.

As it is, I totally find the "move" to be the likely culprit in bubba's demise - but who knows? If you're a fisherman trying to make a living and haul out a 22# lobster and have a buyer for it - would you toss it back? I know it's easy for us to say we would, but sometimes financial pressures trump responsible fishing.

I would hope there are size and number limits on lobster fishing. I wasn't speaking to that.

My main issue is this: If an animal has lived for 50 years for example, it is a sad thing to eat it.

On the other hand I suspect there are many other examples of where we are eating fish that are this old. Orange roughy might be one and I suspect halibut is another (the really large ones might be very old but I am only speculating)

and to say the move is what killed it is again missing the point. The move might well have been the last straw but taking this animal out of the ocean is what killed it folks.

I mean come on, it was in a dealers tank destined for the dinner table. Would anyone really argue it would still be alive in lets say a year or two had it been left in the dealers holding tank? (assuming he was trying to sell it)

[DgenR8]

I don't eat seafood, so I could be way off base here, but would you really want to eat something that large/old?
I do eat beef, and going on the knowledge that Veal is tastier than cow, how good could a 100 year old lobster taste?

[phil519]

Originally posted by Herpervet
I would hope there are size and number limits on lobster fishing. I wasn't speaking to that.

My main issue is this: If an animal has lived for 50 years for example, it is a sad thing to eat it.

On the other hand I suspect there are many other examples of where we are eating fish that are this old. Orange roughy might be one and I suspect halibut is another (the really large ones might be very old but I am only speculating)

and to say the move is what killed it is again missing the point. The move might well have been the last straw but taking this animal out of the ocean is what killed it folks.

I mean come on, it was in a dealers tank destined for the dinner table. Would anyone really argue it would still be alive in lets say a year or two had it been left in the dealers holding tank? (assuming he was trying to sell it)

There is a minimum size - but I don't think there is a maximum size. I totally agree though on the question of taking a lobster that old - it is sad. Just think - one arm is likely to be bigger than any normal sized lobster we'd eat!

I'm still wondering how the heck something that enormous could even fit in a lobster pot/trap?

dgenr8 - i'm making a joke here - but the veal/cow analogy to a lobster would play out like this: microscopic baby = veal and cow = 2~5 llb lobster. I guess a 22 pound lobster would be like a really really old cow...

[Scuba_Dave]

I'm a scuba diver in Ma, we are allowed to Dive for lobster. The best tasting lobster are usually under 3 lbs. Anything over that size is not "bad", but definitely not as good. I'll take (2) 2.5 lb lobsters over a 5 lb'r any day.
There is a min size - measured from the eye socket to the back of the carapace (the big body shell). This min size (here in MA) is increasing to try to help the lobster population out.
We have a max size in "area A" - most of Boston harbor. I haven't looked at my lobster guage yet this year (water still about 36), but max size is 5" (maybe 5.5").

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44013
http://www.massbaydivers.com/

On the outer Cape there isn't a limit. You find it, if you can land it, you can take it. Might sound easy, but when you are diving & come across a lobster that takes MORE then (2) hands to hold, you have a problem
We are now limited to 15 lobsters a day per licensed ($40 a year) person.
The most I have come up with (not a die hard) is 9, 2 of which were max size, 2 more good size, 5 over min size.
Usually it HAS to be OVER min size for me to take it - it's a $100 Fine PER lobster for shorts/overs AND they can take all your gear, your boat if diving from a boat, and your truck if you just pulled the boat out
We eat the smaller lobsters & use the bigger ones for meals w/sauces to make them tastier
Coming home every weekend with a dozen lobsters really gets boring...NOT!!
But cooking them does.....We now have an outdoor "turkey cooker" - propane - to keep the smell out of the house

Really Big lobsters should stay in the ocean, really no reason to take them...not tasty

[DgenR8]

Originally posted by Scuba_Dave


Really Big lobsters should stay in the ocean, really no reason to take them...not tasty

That's what I was getting at.