Anthropology of Food

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  Shellfish

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fish

NOUN:		1. Any of several edible marine crustaceans of the family Homaridae, especially of the genus Homarus, having stalked eyes, long antennae, and five pairs of legs, the first pair of which is modified into large pincers. 2. Any of several crustaceans, such as the spiny lobster, that are related to the lobsters. 3. The flesh of a lobster used as food.
ETYMOLOGY:		Middle English lopster, lobstere, from Old English loppestre, alteration (perhaps influenced by loppe, lobbe, spider) of Latin locusta.
OTHER FORMS:		lobster·er — NOUN
WORD HISTORY:		A lobster and a locust may share a common source for their name, that is, the Latin word locusta, which was used for the locust and also for a crustacean that was probably a kind of lobster. We can see that locusta would be the source of locust, but it looks like an unlikely candidate as the source of lobster. It is thought, however, that Old English loppestre, the ancestor of lobster, was formed from locusta and the suffix –estre used to make agent nouns (our –ste). The change from Latin locusta to Old English loppestre may have been influenced by Old English loppe, meaning “spider.”
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Wikipedia:

Lobster

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In the News . . .

• 'We have no market, but lots of lobsters': a Maine lobsterwoman fights for her livelihood -- The Guardian (23 July 2020)
  
  
• 'We live in a lobstocracy': Maine town is feeling the effects of climate change -- The Guardian (08 December 2018)
  
  
• Climate Change Maps and Visualizations -- Reuters (30 October 2018)
  

From The Scout Report
(5 September 2008)

As the price of a popular New England delicacy falls, fishermen and others grow concerned

Demand and Price Are Falling for Lobster [Free registration may be required]
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/02/us/02lobster.html?ref=business

Shellfish Disease Plaguing Lobster Industry [Windows Media Player]
http://www.mpbn.net/radio/mainenews/080822disease.htm

Rock lobster season 'prosperous' in south
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/southlandtimes/4675873a6568.html

Gulf of Maine Research Institute: Lobster Den [Macromedia
Flash Player]
http://gmri.org/media/videoPage.asp?ID=18

The Lobster Institute [Real Player, pdf]
http://www.lobsterinstitute.org/

How To Eat Lobster
http://www.gma.org/lobsters/eatingetc.html

For centuries, Homarus americanus (also known as the American lobster) was considered food for the poor, and it wasn't until the 1840s that members of the upper crust began to consume these crustaceans in significant quantities. Now, when people visit states like Maine and Massachusetts, sitting down to eat lobster can be the sine qua non of their entire trip to New England. The entire world of lobster consumption in that corner of the United States has been rent asunder in recent months as fewer people are choosing to order this delicacy as part of their dining experience. Like diamond-encrusted skulls by Damien Hirst and pied-a-terre in Manhattan's Upper West Side, lobsters are often thought of as a luxury item, and many people can be quick to cut such an indulgence out of their discretionary budget. Record lobster catches around New England haven't helped the economic situation for lobster fishermen as prices for this aquatic morsel continue to drop, while the price of fuel and bait remains high. Commenting on the situation, Bob Bayer of the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine remarked, "This means hard times, and it means some [fishermen] are not going to make it." [KMG]

The first link will take visitors to an article by the New York Times' Katie Zezima on the recent fortunes of the lobster industry. The second link leads to a recent piece from the
Maine Public Broadcasting Network which discusses the shellfish disease that has begun to impact the lobster population in both Maine and Rhode Island. On a more positive note, the third link will take visitors to a news story from this Tuesday's Southland Times about the very fruitful harvest that rock lobster fishermen are enjoying this season in New Zealand. The fourth link will whisk users away to an intriguing video of a lobster den, provided courtesy of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Moving on, the fifth link will take interested parties to the homepage of the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine. Here visitors can learn about lobster biology, take a lobster quiz, and even learn about their popular "Lobster College". Finally, the last link leads to a bit of helpful information on how to eat a lobster, which answers such questions as "Should you have a soft-shell or hard-shell lobster?" and "What is the nutritional value of lobster?" as well as other items of lobster interest. [KMG]

• Fish and seafood utilization -- Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, United Nations
  
  
• The Food Timeline -- Lynne Olver, Morris County Library NJ
  
  
• Freshwater and marine fish images -- University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections
  
  
• Timmerman, Kelsey. Where Am I Eating?: An Adventure Through the Global Food Economy with Discussion Questions and a Guide to Going "Glocal". Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2014.