652 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



Table 145. U. S. Imports of Canned Spiny Lobster Meat. 



Total 1,037,710 136,509 461,529 459,375 



Freezing Spiny Lobster Tails. When the live lobsters are landed at port, they 

 are stored in a cool room until needed. When they are prepared for freezing, the 

 tails are broken off and the intestines removed by pulling them out through a 

 small cut in the tail. They are washed in either fresh or chlorinated water, graded 

 according to size, wrapped in a moistureproof wrapper, and packed in waxed 

 cardboard cartons containing 5 pounds each. After the cartons are frozen, they 

 are packed into a large corrugated paper carton, with a capacity of 6 small cartons. 

 The large carton is sealed and stored at — 5° F (— 24.4° C) for future shipment 

 to market. Some frozen meat which is imported from Cuba is packed in /4-pound 

 tin cans with a cellophane window in the top. 



European Lobster Fisheries 



Development of the Fishery. Although lobsters have been known to people of 

 Northern Europe since early times, they were seldom eaten by the fishermen 

 until recent times. Since about 1800 the lobster industry has become an impor- 

 tant fishery in Norway and the British Isles. One of the earliest methods of taking 

 lobsters was by hooking them under the body with a hook fastened on a long 

 pole. In the early days of the industry tongs were commonly used in shoal water 

 by fishermen in small boats. These methods of fishing are applicable only in 

 shallow water where lobsters are plentiful, and they usually injure the lobsters 

 so that they cannot be transported any great distance to market. The first impor- 

 tant improvement in methods of lobstering was the use of the "plumper." This 

 trap consisted of an iron ring to which a net was fastened so as to form a deep 

 bag; bait was placed near the bottom of the bag. Such traps had to be carefully 

 watched and pulled very often as the lobsters could escape easily. At present 

 cylindrical traps or creels are largely used; they operate on the same principle as 

 those used in New England and Canada, but differ chiefly in shape. They are 

 commonly small cylinders, made of a wooden hoop frame covered with netting, 

 with entrance funnels in both ends. They are usually anchored by means of flat 

 stones tied to the bottom. 



Species of Lobsters Caught in European Waters. The American lobster 

 (Homarus americanus) is not found on the coast of Europe. The true European 

 lobster is Homarus gammarus; it closely resembles the American lobster, but is 

 distinguished by the narrower spine on its forehead and by having teeth only on 

 its upper margin. The langouste (Palinurus vulgaris) is commonly found on the 

 coast of France and Spain and in the waters of the Mediterranean; this crustacean 

 is sometimes called "crawfish of the sea," "thorny lobster," "spiny lobster," "rock 



