142 



ABOUT LOBSTERS 



and pounds— but there is still a high mortality, and much of 

 it is due to ignorance or carelessness. 



Canada seems to be ahead of the United States in using 

 more of the lobster; some dealers even pool their boiled trash 

 and have it picked up on a regular schedule for conversion 

 into fertilizer. It is reported that Canada has developed a 

 vacuum tool to separate carapace meat from the cartilage, 

 and put up lobster legs in packages for ready sale. 



Some fruits, such as cantaloupes, need to be ripened 

 after they reach their destination, and are put into ripening 

 rooms of controlled temperature and humidity. It is an ex- 

 cellent marketing practice to make sure that the fruit reaches 

 consumers in the condition they want it. Similarly, it might 

 be good practice to tank lobsters after their trip to a city to 

 revitalize them. Such a tank could have natural or artificial 

 sea water mixed with a plentiful supply of air or even oxy- 

 gen. 



Branding. An important aspect of merchandising is the 

 marking of a particularly good product with a brand name 

 as an essential to enable the customer to recognize a supe- 

 rior product. A brand name is assisted by a distinctive pack- 

 age. Whole lobsters are not readily adapted to packaging, 

 but processed lobster products are. 



The State of Maine has been 

 desirous of marking its product as 

 " Maine Lobster," and several years 

 ago furnished lobstermen free with 

 rubber bands, each carrying a two- 

 color plastic plate printed " State of 

 Maine Lobster." (See Figure 18.) 

 This was a real step forward in 

 better merchandising. These rub- 

 ber bands were to be used in place 

 of plugs in securing a lobster's big 

 claw, and they were good, in that 

 banding is better than plugging, 

 which injures the claw; and es- 

 pecially because they identified the 



Fig. 18 



