University Of Maine Researchers Develop Claw Sensor To Gauge Lobster Health

It should come as no surprise that traveling long distances can be as physically taxing on animals as it is on people.

That’s why lobster dealers, who often ship live lobsters on planes across oceans and continents, sometimes give their lobsters a physical checkup before putting them on planes.

At the University of Maine, researchers believe they have found a better way to determine whether a lobster is fit for travel. Instead of testing serum protein levels in a lobster’s blood, they have developed a way to measure its grip.

Because dead, uncooked lobsters are inedible, lobster distributors want to make sure as many survive the trip as possible, in order to reduce their losses. Recently molted lobsters with soft shells tend to go to restaurants in Maine or New England or to processors while hardshell lobsters are shipped farther away.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Bangor Daily News