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The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean

By: Trevor Corson
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
ISBN: 0060555599
ISBN-13: 9780060555597
Released: 06 May 2005
RRP: £7.79
Average Rating:

Customer Reviews

Lobsters.... who knew?!?! - By: Julie, 22 Oct 2007
First, i want to make it clear that before i bought this book, i had never given lobsters a second thought, except to say "no, i'll never eat one, thank-you". but whilst on hols in America i was killing time in barnes & noble looking for something different to read & just happened to pick this book up. i loved it!! so much so that i'll say it again. i loved it!! don't ask me why, alll i can say is, lobsters are fascinating creatures! & what lobster men & women go through for their trade is fascinating. i am not in any way affiliated with the ocean, but this book grabbed my attention & held it right through until the end. i read it about a year ago, & still remember every chapter. friends & family are forced to listen to me rattle off useless facts about lobsters anytime they come up in conversation!

I don't know how else to put it... this book just just caught my eye, & i loved every minute reading it & love it still. If your looking for something different to read, I would highly recommend it.
"I don't think we're going to see a decline..." - By: Mary Whipple, 13 Jun 2004
For anyone with an interest in Maine lobsters which goes beyond the plastic bibs & melted butter, this is the "Everything You Always Wanted to Know..." resource. After spending two years aboard commercial lobster boats, meeting scientists dedicated to conserving the lobster as a natural resource, & studying the research about the lobster's habitat, breeding habits, & possible endangerment, author Trevor Corson has produced a highly readable, balanced account of what is happening in the industry & the remarkable co-operation which has evolved between some lobstermen & scientists.

Little Cranberry Island, off the coast of Maine, not far from Canada, is a lobstering community with the perfect lobster habitat just off its coast, its lobstermen as concerned about preserving their livelihoods for the future as are scientists (many working for the government) about protecting the coast from "over-fishing." Until recently, however, the two groups had not pooled their knowledge, & scientists had not done enough on-site studies of how & where the lobsters live & breed & what constitutes the true threats to their continued existence. No one on either side reallly knew whether cyclical declines in the number of pounds caught were natural or induced by man.

Concentrating on the roles of individuals on the island & noted scientists engaged in unusual research, humanizing alll of them & describing their day-to-day lives, Corson delves into seemingly arcane subjects, such as the lobster's mating rituals, molting & its effects, battles for territory (both by lobsters & fishermen), ocean currents that carry lobster larvae, natural "lobster nurseries," & the role of the extremely large lobsters which sometimes live in very deep water. The book is entertaining, & in a few cases humorous (a discussion of lobster courtship juxtaposed against the courtship of a lobsterman), but it is uncompromising in its attention to serious research & what has been discovered about the lobster's life cycle. Filled with insights into how & why scientists, lobstermen, the government, & the lobsters themselves alll continue to behave as they do, this well-written account is accessible to scientists & laymen alike. Mary Whipple