Customer Reviews

The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean

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For anyone with an interest in Maine lobsters which goes beyond the plastic bibs and melted butter, this is the "Everything You Always Wanted to Know..." resource. After spending two years aboard commercial lobster boats, meeting scientists dedicated to conserving the lobster as a natural resource, and studying the research about the lobster's habitat, breeding habits, and possible endangerment, author Trevor Corson has produced a highly readable, balanced account of what is happening in the industry and the remarkable co-operation which has evolved between some lobstermen and scientists.

Little Cranberry Island, just south of Mt. Desert Island and Acadia National Park in Maine, is a lobstering community with the perfect lobster habitat just off its coast, its lobstermen as concerned about preserving their livelihoods for the future as are scientists (many working for the government) about protecting the coast from "over-fishing." Until recently, however, the two groups had not pooled their knowledge, and scientists had not done enough on-site studies of how and where the lobsters live and breed and what constitutes the true threats to their continued existence. No one on either side really knew whether cyclical declines in the number of pounds caught were natural or induced by man.

Concentrating on the roles of individuals on the island and noted scientists engaged in unusual research, humanizing all of them and describing their day-to-day lives, Corson delves into seemingly arcane subjects, such as the lobster's mating rituals, molting and its effects, battles for territory (both by lobsters and fishermen), ocean currents that carry lobster larvae, natural "lobster nurseries," and the role of the extremely large lobsters which sometimes live in very deep water. The book is entertaining, and in a few cases humorous (a discussion of lobster courtship juxtaposed against the courtship of a lobsterman), but it is uncompromising in its attention to serious research and what has been discovered about the lobster's life cycle. Filled with insights into how and why scientists, lobstermen, the government, and the lobsters themselves all continue to behave as they do, this well-written account is accessible to scientists and laymen alike. Mary Whipple

I have to admit that I was predisposed not to like Trevor Corson's THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS. I know that I like to eat lobsters, that I prefer not to cook them myself, and that I need to have someone else help me crack the claws open to get out the meat. That's about all I ever knew, or cared to know, about lobsters before reading this book. I was skeptical that someone could actually write a whole book about lobsters, let alone that I would want to read it. That's why I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying this nonfiction book that is part scientific mystery, part adventure story, and even part romance.

There are two main groups of human characters in Corson's book. One group is the lobstermen of Little Cranberry Island off the coast of Maine. These rugged men, many of whose families have been lobstering for generations, work incredibly hard and understand more about lobsters than just about anyone. They're also surprisingly complex folks, some of whom hold degrees in economics or marine biology or who dabble in painting.

The other group is the scientists who are dedicated to understanding lobster habitats and behavior in the hopes of swelling their population. These scientists alternate between skepticism of the lobstermen's own theories for ensuring a healthy lobster population and grudging respect for the lobstermen's time-tested methods. The scientists are a quirky bunch, too. One fellow plays a flute made out of a lobster claw, and one scientist becomes a waitress --- at a lobster restaurant --- because it's the only job that gives her enough flexibility to conduct her research. In many ways, THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS is an account of how these two groups, often at odds with one another, work over a period of years to discover why --- and if --- the lobster population is declining.

The third subject of Corson's book is the lobsters themselves. Corson probes the creatures' habitat, their development, and even their sex lives in minute detail. These sometimes violent and graphic descriptions of lobsters' behavior are broken up into short segments, alternating with accounts of the humans' own dramas. This technique helps keep the reader from growing overwhelmed by the amount of information presented. Occasionally, the author tries a little too hard to draw explicit analogies between the lobsters and their human counterparts ("Jack was a bit like a large lobster himself."). The text is most successful when it allows readers to discover the parallels for themselves.

These connections are rich, though, and the mystery of the lobsters' survival is compelling. Even if Corson's book doesn't answer all the questions it poses, it will make you appreciate your next lobster dinner --- and the people who helped bring it to you --- in a whole new way.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Dust cover makes the book look old and worn, but this up-to-date book has astonishing new information, even for someone who has known about lobsters for decades. You won't believe the life of these interesting critters down at the bottom of the cold sea!
But the story is almost equally about the scientists who study the lobsters and their stories are fun and interesting too.
This book kept me turning the pages and chapters to find out more about the personalities under water and the guys on the surface.

Corson's technique of switching between the catchers and the studiers works really well. He has taken what could be a very dry, academic subject - or a totally fluffy one - and made it both spell-binding and human.

I'm familiar with the lobstering end of his material, and knew he was right on target with it (though I was pleased to hear the father of his primary fisherman-character speaking enthusiastically about the book - no one is harder to please than a family member, I'm sure.) But I knew next to nothing about the life of lobsters or of the efforts scientists are making to study them prior to reading the book. Fascinating stuff, and told with great enthusiasm and even suspense. Every time I had to put the book down, I could hardly wait to come back.

As a recreational lobstermen myself, I became really interested in the critter. My kids enjoy seeing what comes up in the traps and we can only imagine what takes place down there when you see a 4# lobster with only one claw and the other is in the midst of regeneration. We talk about them for hours.
This book sheds some fascinating facts and observations as well as a few funny stories. It even casues one to reflect on some "people-behavior" from a different perspective, as in some cases it is similar to the lobsters. Great stories and nice supporting web site.

Sorry I missed the author at my local favorite bookshop last summer. Will catch him in 05' at a nearby bookseller. Best book I read in quite some time.

Lobster is my "favorite" food. As a child my mother would always say that lobster was the most festive meal. We didn't have it often, but emotionally it took on great significance.

That's why I picked up this book to read. It also happens that I love to read natural history, travel stories, and non fiction essays. "Secret Life of Lobsters" did not disappoint. Others have mentioned John McPhee, and this book certainly evokes his writing. It intertwines the lives of the fishermen, the ecology and behavior of lobsters, and the lives of the scientists who study the lobsters. It reads with the suspense and pull of a detective novel. My only criticism is that it does not follow a linear chronology and involves a myriad of characters; at time the threads become hard to follow.

Someone criticized this book for being pro-industry propaganda. I seriously disagree. Yes, the government scientists are portrayed as basing their decisions on prejudice and a lack of information. I personally spent 10 years in the government, 5 of them as an attorney for the Department of the Interior, and I think the portrayal of the government scientists is pretty accurate. I do think though that it's unlikely that all lobster fishermen are quite as thoughtful about conservation or as scrupulous as the protagonists in this book. Overall though I think this book is a great read, and if you like natural history books you will not be disappointed.

This book was given to me as a gift since I have a summer home in Down East, Maine.

It was an excellent,fascinating book, very well written and attention-holding. It tells a factual account about the Lobster industry and research that is going on to preserve these creatures, but also interweaves a personal story of the islanders on Little Cranberry.

Good book for an rainy afternoon and would recommend highly.

As a fan of nonfiction - often historical and deep ocean or survival related - I have read Linda Greenlaw's books (Hungry Ocean, Lobster Chronicles, etc.), Sabastian Junger's "Perfect Storm" and now look forward to getting into some pages of "Cod" by Mark Kurlansky.

The Secret Life of Lobsters, by Trevor Corson, is among my favorites. Trevor's writing style conjures that of Sabastian Junger or Jon Krakauer -- even Jeff Shaara's -- with its laborious care and detail of humanity.

I hope to read more of Mr. Corson's work and highly recommend to all lobster and seafaring fans and landlubbers alike.

The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists Are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean by Trevor Corson explains how Maine lobstermen voluntarily conserve their lobster population and keep the industry sustainable.

Though anyone can theoretically obtain a license to fish for lobster in Maine, the pros protect their harbors from interlopers, snubbing neophytes with no ancestral ties to the community, and even vandalizing their traps.

Maine lobstermen have also protected their lobster population by making the breeding female lobster almost sacred. Both Corson lauds the lobstermen's practice of "V-notching" egg-bearing females-punching a small hole in their tail fins before releasing them back into the ocean. Notching is code for "Cherished breeder-not for sale." Lobstermen have agreed among themselves to throw back the V-notched lobsters-even when they are eggless.

Maine's lobstering community also tosses back outsized male lobsters-a practice unique among fishing industries. In the inimitable words of Trevor Corson: "by throwing back any lobster with a carapace over five inches, the lobstermen were populating a sort of sex resort for retirees, open to both male studs and experienced females."

Corson is one of those rare writers who can make the reproductive systems of lower life forms seem positively racy. Even readers with only a passing interest in marine ecosystems will find the chapter "Sex, Sizes, and Videotape," which chronicles the fascinating mating habits of lobsters, a riveting page turner. Corson's secret is to suggest human analogs for lobster behaviors without anthropomorphizing too flagrantly. Corson also keeps his pages interesting to a wide range of readers by drifting back and forth between the sex lives of lobsters and those of lobstermen like Bruce Fernald, whose romance and marriage to Barb Shirey blossoms between scientific studies.

Corson also aptly traces the sometimes adversarial, but often collaborative relationship between lobstermen and scientists. Bob Steneck emerges as the hero of this conflict. Steneck is a renegade scientist who believes in actually getting out in the water and counting lobsters before making predictions. His practical field approach-which involves studying lobsters in their natural setting-vindicates the conservation practices of Maine's lobstermen and helps bridge the gap between fishing and science.

I read this on a lark, trying to fill a rainy weekend on vacation, but it quickly engrossed me. As a biology major I appreciated the scientific information on the animals themselves, but it was the stories of the lives of lobster fishers that I found most informative. I knew nothing of their lifestyle, or how hard they work to bring this delicacy to my table. Now everytime I eat one I will silently thank the lobstermen! A surprising, fun, engaging read.