ABOUT LOBSTERS 35 



against the inside of the claw shell, and can possibly chafe 

 and irritate. 



Gas disease. Gas disease is covered in detail in a paper 

 " The Gas Disease in Lobsters," by Donald M. Harriman, of 

 Sea and Shore Fisheries, who writes: 



" Gas disease is caused by super-saturation of air in 

 water. This in turn results in super-saturation of dissolved 

 nitrogen, which is injurious to lobsters." It occurs when a 

 water pump is working against high pressure and there is 

 an air leak on the vacuum side of the pump, usually 

 through the packing. Thus air as well as the water is sucked 

 into the pump. 



Gas disease, when acute, will kill lobsters in a matter 

 of hours; when it is not acute, in from two days to two 

 weeks. 



Gill disease. The gills of lobsters are sometimes in- 

 fected with parasites (primarily a British disease). This 

 organism can be seen, when the gill cover is removed, as 

 pinkish, egglike protrusions, up to 1/5" long, from the gill 

 filaments to which the organism is firmly attached. When 

 present in small numbers, the parasite has no noticeable 

 effect on the lobster, but may, in the case of heavy infesta- 

 tion ( several hundred on each side ) , weaken the lobster. As 

 the organism remains attached to the gills throughout its 

 adult life, and the eggs which are produced cannot, so far as 

 is known, lead to a direct reinfection of lobsters, the parasite 

 cannot be regarded as a potential source of an epidemic 

 amongst stored lobsters. 



Bowel movement. The dung of a lobster will kill * * 

 other lobsters. That is one reason why lobsters are 

 commonly kept in a tank before shipping out. Thus 

 the bowels can be emptied, and there will be little dung 

 to sift down in a shipping barrel to kill the lobsters in 

 the lower layers. 



