by
Daniel Jackson, Production Editor, International Aquafeed
The elusive cultured lobster
So pronounced are the paralells between human and lobster, the Canadian clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson dedicates a chapter to the crustacean in his bestselling self-help book, 12 Rules for Life. We can learn a lot about ourselves from the humble lobster, he says, and I’m inclined to think he’s right.
The ability to co-operate effectively in large numbers is what puts us at the
top of the food chain, and co-operation is essential if we are to obtain an
elusive prize – the cultured lobster.
The challenges the species presents to the aquaculture industry are varied and will require input from all its constituent parts. From innovations in the manufacture of durable netting to research in feed formulation. Efforts to pull these various strands together are currently underway, but there is still much to learn and several obstacles to overcome.
For example, it is not even known at present what juvenile European lobsters eat (though in captivity the answer seems to be ‘pretty much anything that drifts by’).
One thing that’s not in any doubt is the lobster’s value as a commodity. Fishing for them is a hugely profitable enterprise, and one that is becoming more so every year. For a species so synonymous with seafood, relatively few are caught (just 3300 tonnes in the UK in 2016). But the crustacean punches above its weight.
It accounts for just over 0.5 percent of the total British seafood catch, but over five percent of the profits. If catching them is so lucrative, might growing them be even more so?
The overwhelming majority of lobsters are currently caught in the wild. Farming them is technically challenging, and on a large scale not yet commercially viable. But for those who work out how to do it successfully there is a rich seam waiting to be plundered.
Read more HERE.
The elusive cultured lobster
So pronounced are the paralells between human and lobster, the Canadian clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson dedicates a chapter to the crustacean in his bestselling self-help book, 12 Rules for Life. We can learn a lot about ourselves from the humble lobster, he says, and I’m inclined to think he’s right.
The challenges the species presents to the aquaculture industry are varied and will require input from all its constituent parts. From innovations in the manufacture of durable netting to research in feed formulation. Efforts to pull these various strands together are currently underway, but there is still much to learn and several obstacles to overcome.
For example, it is not even known at present what juvenile European lobsters eat (though in captivity the answer seems to be ‘pretty much anything that drifts by’).
One thing that’s not in any doubt is the lobster’s value as a commodity. Fishing for them is a hugely profitable enterprise, and one that is becoming more so every year. For a species so synonymous with seafood, relatively few are caught (just 3300 tonnes in the UK in 2016). But the crustacean punches above its weight.
It accounts for just over 0.5 percent of the total British seafood catch, but over five percent of the profits. If catching them is so lucrative, might growing them be even more so?
The overwhelming majority of lobsters are currently caught in the wild. Farming them is technically challenging, and on a large scale not yet commercially viable. But for those who work out how to do it successfully there is a rich seam waiting to be plundered.
Read more HERE.
The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd
For additional daily news from aquaculture around the world: aquaculture-news
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