Residents of New England have been trapping lobster since at least the 18th century. Ironically, Homarus americanus (the Latin name for our crustacean friend) was once considered inedible and was used only as a fertilizer. Today, it's a staple of gourmet cuisine.

Most lobsters consumed in the United States are caught off the coast of New England by professional lobstermen. Lobstering can be done year-round, though many lobstermen pull their traps in the winter months to avoid the damage and danger of Nor'easters and other storms.

It takes up to seven years for a lobster to grow to one pound, the size legal for trapping. Lobsters grow by molting, when they shed their shell and grow a new one. A lobster may lose a claw through accident or self-defense (such lobsters are known as "culls"), but will usually grow another claw to replace the one it lost. Lobsters can live eighty years or more, and the biggest lobster on record weighed in at just under 45 pounds.
 
Q: What's that green stuff inside a lobster? Should I eat it?
Called the tomalley, it's part of the lobster's internal organs — the lobster equivalent of a liver and pancreas. Many people consider it a delicacy, but others prefer to avoid the tomalley altogether.

Live lobsters are reddish brown.

Q: What color are lobsters?
New England lobsters are reddish brown when they're alive, and turn bright red when they're cooked. Blue, orange, and "calico" lobsters have been found off the coast of New England, but these color variations are rare.

Q: Is there a lobster season?
The season also depends on what you are looking for. If you like hardshell/full-shell lobsters, the winter months are ideal for this, but prices are higher because it is more trying for lobstermen to be out in the elements (there are plenty of lobsters out there, but they just aren't necessarily being fished). If you are looking for cheap and abundant lobsters, then the summer months are good because the weather doesn't keep lobstermen from fishing them, but the shells are soft because they are molting. So, the season is really dependent on the customer's preferred style of lobster.

Q: Do lobsters feel pain when they're cooked? Do they scream when they're cooked?
The Maine Lobstermen's Association says that loocalize when cooked. The sound you may hear when cooking a lobster is air escaping from the lobster's body cavity as it expands from heating. As for whether lobsters feel pain when they're being cooked, it is generally believed that lobsters' small brains and primitive central nervous systems prevent them from feeling pain. But if you're worried about this, you can start the lobster in a pot of cold water rather than warm water when you cook it. Changes in temperature will apparently put a lobster to sleep, as will laying it on its back for a few minutes before cooking it.

If you're in the City Island area, you can call ahead (718-885-1459) and we'll cook your lobsters for you.

Q: What was the biggest lobster ever caught?
Some sources say that the biggest lobster ever caught was 45 lbs, but the biggest catch on record was made by the Massachusetts Lobstermen's association. "Big George" was caught in 1974 off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The two-foot long lobster weighed in at 37.4 pounds, according to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.