WHAT
IS A LOBSTER?
The Lobster is a large marine CRUSTACEAN with five
pairs of jointed legs, the first pair bearing large
pincerlike claws of equal size adapted for crushing
the shells of its prey.
The
dark-green common American lobster (Homarus americanus)
is found from Labrador to North Carolina, but especially
along the New England coast. When the lobster is cooked,
the shell turns bright red; the meat is considered
a delicacy.
Long
ago, lobsters were so plentiful that Native Americans
used them to fertilize their fields and to bait their
hooks for fishing. In colonial times, lobsters were
considered "poverty food." They were harvested from
tidal pools and served to children, to prisoners,
and to indentured servants, who exchanged their passage
to America for seven years of service to their sponsors.
In Massachusetts, some of the servants finally rebelled.
They had it put into their contracts that they would
not be forced to eat lobster more than three times
a week.
