For a few weeks now I've been watching lobster fishermen lining up trailer-loads of traps on the wharf like soldiers ready to fight the good fight. The boats are in the water, the sun shines off their hulls.
My love of all things lobster began one spring day in 1984, when a fisherman named Dawson Baker from Nova Scotia's South Shore took me out on his 27 footer. The other person on the boat was David Suzuki –Dawson had no idea who he was, nor did it matter to him. It was just another day in his passionate lobstering life, extending hospitality and sharing knowledge indiscriminately! It gave me a greater respect for fishermen, as well as a new friendship.
Our fresh crustaceans offer sweet, succulent promise.
For a few weeks now I've been watching lobster fishermen lining up trailer-loads of traps on the wharf like soldiers ready to fight the good fight. The boats are in the water, the sun shines off their hulls.
My love of all things lobster began one spring day in 1984, when a fisherman named Dawson Baker from Nova Scotia's South Shore took me out on his 27 footer. The other person on the boat was David Suzuki-Dawson had no idea who he was, nor did it matter to him. It was just another day in his passionate lobstering life, extending hospitality and sharing knowledge indiscriminately! It gave me a greater respect for fishermen, as well as a new friendship.
In Canada the lobster harvest takes place in the Atlantic Provinces and Quebec. Lobster seasons are designed to protect the summer moults, or shedding of shells, ensuring hard-shelled, meat-filled crustaceans. (Go to www.gov.ns.ca/fish/marine/map/lobster_full.shtml to find out when the season is in your area.)
The lobster fishermen where I live, on Nova Scotia's Northumberland Strait, begin leaving the wharf anytime after 3 a.m., heading to their fishing grounds to scout for the brightly coloured buoys that mark their trawls. A gaff snags onto the line to bring the buoy on board; the rope is fed through a winch to bring the trawl up, and traps are opened to reveal their catch.
Along with lobsters you get other ocean life such as crabs and sea urchins, which are tossed overboard. Lobsters that don't meet legal size limits or that are carrying eggs on their tails are also returned to the ocean, helping to protect the fishery's longevity.
Once the traps are emptied and rebaited, usually with herring and mackerel, they are put back in the water. After repeating this process many times the fishermen head back to the wharf where they sell the day's catch to commercial buyers, but if you're there on time, you can buy your bounty directly from the fishermen as well. It doesn't get any fresher!
Lobster is very versatile-virtually every part of it can be used in some form of cooking. The shells make rich, silky bisque; the tomalley, or liver-located at the base of the head-adds flavour to butters and spreads; the coral, or roe, sometimes found in the body or tail of the female, makes a beautiful garnish for salads; and the claws are impressive sitting on top of a salad or garnishing a bowl of chowder.
Some people prefer the female lobster to the male; the meat tends to be a little sweeter, and roe can only be found in females. To tell which sex you have, turn the lobster over and feel the first set of appendages behind the swimmerettes. The male appendages are bony while the females are feathery. With practice you can also tell by looking at the tail: the female's tail is relatively broad to accommodate egg mass.
I've had lobster meat in everything from chowders and casseroles to the most sinfully rich mashed potatoes ever. Whatever way you prepare it, savour every bite of this delicacy!
Producer spotlight
Sarah McDonald, from Grand Manan, NB, has been fishing lobster since she was 19-in the past 11 years she has missed only one season, the year she worked on a luxury yacht in Florida. She realized very quickly that her heart was in New Brunswick, and lobstering.
"It's in my blood," she says. "My sister is also a fisher."
From June to September she works as skipper in her family's business, Whales-n-Sails Adventures, taking tourists on whale watching excursions; November to December is usually spent fishing lobsters.
The first couple weeks of the season are especially hard, she says.
Sarah does everything from hauling traps on the boat to banding. "It takes endurance and you must be willing and able to take the abuse from the sea, getting wet from stem to stern every day, not to mention the cold weather."
Although the work is hard Sarah says it pays well. And, she likes the culture.
"My favourite day is the first day of the season, when 80 to 120 boats go out of Grand Manan to the sea. It's very exciting-everyone is a big happy family."