316 THE SEAS 



for the animals remaining alive out of water, care has to be 

 taken not to squeeze this region during packing. 



In the English Channel the place of the lobster is to 

 some extent taken by the handsome Spiny or Rock 

 Lobster or Crawfish (Palinurus vulgaris), which differs 

 from the lobster in its larger size, its brown beautifully 

 sculptured shell and lack of large claws (Plate 114). It 

 is seldom eaten in England but is regarded as a great 

 delicacy in France, where it is known as " Langouste." 

 Other kinds of Spiny Lobsters are used as food in different 

 parts of the world such as California, South Africa, Australia, 

 New Zealand, and India. In the North Sea and off Norway 

 a much smaller animal, the Norway Lobster (Nephrops 

 norvegicus) , is caught (Plate 113). This has long slender 

 claws and is orange coloured with red and white markings. 

 It generally lives on a muddy bottom and inhabits much 

 greater depths, usually from thirty to sixty fathoms, 

 and has to be captured by trawling, being often caught in 

 large numbers by steam trawlers on their return journey 

 to the northern fishing ports of Great Britain. It is useless 

 if caught on the outward journey because, unlike the 

 ordinary lobster, it cannot be kept alive and sent to the 

 market fresh but has to be boiled almost immediately 

 after it is caught. It was once fished in large numbers 

 in the Irish Sea, those sold in London markets being known 

 as " Dublin Prawns." In the Mediterranean it is extremely 

 plentiful in the Adriatic and is sold in the Italian ports 

 under the name of " Scampo." 



In the British Isles the edible crab {Cancer pagurus) 

 comes second to the lobster in importance among the 

 Crustacean shellfish. It lives in shallow water along rocky 

 coasts and in regions of submerged valleys under much the 

 same conditions as the lobster and is caught in pots in the 

 same way. Fine specimens may weigh as much as twelve 





