ABOUT LOBSTERS 29 



Enemies 



Herrick lists man as the principal enemy of lobsters. 

 He states that codfish come next, and the stomachs of cod 

 are often stuffed with young lobsters. Raccoons can be a 

 nuisance, and pounds near woods, as at Steuben, Maine, 

 are pestered by coons which come down to the shore at low 

 tide to scoop up lobsters. The woods around such pounds 

 are littered with their shells. Poundkeepers keep a rifle 

 handy, and manage to kill a dozen or more coons each year. 



Diseases 



Red Tail. During the summer of 1946, an unknown 

 disease became epidemic in many lobster storage pounds 

 along the Maine coast and caused a high mortality among 

 lobsters stored there. The Sea and Shore Fisheries and 

 Maine Agricultural Experiment Station joined forces to in- 

 vestigate the disease. 9 



At the beginning of the investigation, it was believed 

 that this disease of lobsters could be recognized by a creamy 

 pink to red coloration of the underside of the abdomen, thus 

 the name " Red Tail." Later, it was discovered that this red 

 coloration could not be relied upon as a symptom, but since 

 the term Red Tail had- become so widely known to designate 

 this disease, no attempt was made to change it. 



Only a microscopic indication will prove that the dis- 

 ease is present in lobsters. It shows up in the sharp, pro- 

 gressive increase in weak and dead lobsters among those 

 stored in pounds, cars, and tanks, especially after the tem- 

 perature of the water has reached 45° F. or higher. The dis- 

 ease was found to be non-poisonous to human beings and 

 other warm-blooded creatures, but highly contagious among 

 lobsters. 



This study further showed that while the lobster is its 

 natural host, the disease organism can live and multiply 

 outside the lobster tissue in the slime of lobster tanks, cars, 

 crates, bait barrels, and smack wells; it is also found in the 

 mud of tidal pounds and abounds in the sea water of tanks, 



"See John S. Getchell, "A Study of Red Tail," Maine Department of Sea 

 and Shore Fisheries. 



