The Joy Of Eating Lobster

As children eating lobster was not a treat. Cape Breton lobsters were plentiful and cheap. My father tells me of hand netting for lobster off the pilot boat wharf in Cranberry. The idea was to throw a hand net out with dead perch or other fish tied to the net. Wait a short while and give the net a jerk to upset the lobsters and pull it in very fast. The lobsters when upset would grasp the net and hold on until the net came to the surface. You had to be quick as the lobsters would let go as soon as they break the surface.

This method was used by kids and produced some real great lobster because there was no size limit. Stories of lobster reaching nearly twenty lbs. was not uncommon. Commercial fishermen had to use the restrictive 4 inch head to permit only smaller lobsters to be caught. Sometimes large lobsters would be found outside the trap but tangled in the netting.

Our family as others at the time would eat lobster whenever as our dad would buy them by the dozen, usually $2 a dozen. The girls in particular would not like eating them because they were messy creatures and hard to manage. The proper way to eat lobster is to lay out newspater, place the lobster there and make the proper cuts to get to the flesh and enjoy. Large bibs will help but be prepared to get thod delicious squirts of lobster juice. It is best to wear a bathing suit,as we often did and take a swim immediately after consumpion.

Today lobsters are a valuable commodity costing up to $12 a pound except this year when demand dropped and you could buy them for as low as $4.50.

This summer when Theresa and I travelled to the Maritimes my mother in law gave us $50 to have a feed of lobster. This was a late promised gift for our anniversary. Little did she know that the price would be so low and we were able to have our fill of freshly cooked lobster two times for this amount. We would pick out the lobsters we wished to be cooked and wait until the man performed his magic and we would eat them there on the shore or outside table. They always taste so much better right out of the pot and Theresa who always says she will have a little of mine ate her share for sure.

We both said at the time they were the very best and that is how I always feel when you treat yourself once or twice a year.Now days three 2 lb. lobsters will suffice but in earlier days we would eat many more. Maybe the price has something to do with our appetite.

Whatever the cost I always think of the fishermen who risk their lives producing this delicacy for us. Nearly every person in Cape Breton knows or is a relative of a lost fisherman. You can't put a price on a lost life.