Know Your Lobster

To learn more about your Grand Manan Lobster, please click on these sites:

Also, to learn about the Bay of Fundy and the area around Grand Manan Island, click here:

Lobster Glossary

Here is a glossary of lobster terms:

Banding: A strong elastic is placed around the claws of live lobster for safe handling and to preserve quality.
Berried Lobster: A female with eggs under her tail. Under Canadian law, these must be returned to the water.
Brine: Salt water used to cushion and insulate a whole cooked lobster in a cello sleeve (a "popsicle pack").

Canners: A small lobster, weighing approximately 170 to 454 grams (.5 lb. to 1 lb.)
Carapace: Body shell, measured from the back of the eye socket to the end of the shell to determine legal size.
Chixs (chickens): Lobster weighing approximately 454-500 grams (1 to 1-1/8 lb.)
Cold pack: Frozen lobster meat, packed in cans, not retorted. Frozen storage is required.
Coral: Internal roe or eggs.
Crusher: The larger of the two claws.
Cull: A lobster with one or no claws, normally sold at a lower price.
Deuces: Lobsters weighing 900-1135 grams (2 to 2.5 lb.)
Halves: Lobster weighing 680 to 800 grams (1.5 to 1.75 lb.)
Hard Shell: A lobster whose shell has fully hardened after molting. Hard-shelled lobsters yield 50% to 60% more meat than soft-shell lobsters ("shedders").
Hot Pack: Canned lobster, retorted and shelf stable.

Jumbos: Whole lobsters weighing more than 1135 grams (2.5 lb.) Jumbos are graded as small (1135-1475 grams or 2.5 to 3.25 lb.), medium (1475-2270 grams or 3.25 to 5lb.) and super (2270 grams + or over 5 lb.)
LFA: Lobster Fishing Area; regions in Atlantic Canada where lobster fishing is open at specific times of the year (seasons). The division into LFAs allows control of the harvest. Minimum size of lobsters varies from area to area.
Markets: A size category for lobsters weighing 454 grams and up, usually destined for the live market.
Pincher claw: The smaller claw.
Popsicle pack: Term used to describe a whole cooked lobster, packed in brine in a cello sleeve and frozen.
Pound: A storage area for holding live lobsters.
Quarters: Lobster weighing 570 to 680 grams (1.25 to 1.5 lb.)

Seasons: Specific periods in the year when a particular area or region can be fished.
Selects: Lobster weighing 800 to 900 grams (1.75 to 2.0 lbs.)
Shedders: Lobster in the molt or soft-shell stage of growth.
Soft Shell: A lobster after it molts or sheds its hard shell to facilitate growth. During this soft-shell period, meat yield is low, and meat texture and flavor are poor.
Trap: A cage-like structure used to catch lobsters alive.
Tomalley: Green-colored edible liver, used to flavor spreads and sauces.