Human Consumption
Homarus gammarus is "highly esteemed" as a foodstuff, and may fetch very high prices. It may be sold fresh, frozen, canned or powdered. Both the claws and the abdomen of H. gammarus contain "excellent" white meat, and most of the contents of the cephalothorax are edible. The exceptions are the gastric mill and the "sand vein" (gut). The price of H. gammarus is up to three times higher than that of H. americanus, and the European species is considered to have a better flavour.
Lobsters are mostly fished using lobster pots, although lines baited with octopus or cuttlefish sometimes succeed in tempting them out, to allow them to be caught in a net or by hand. In 2008, 4,386 t of H. gammarus were caught across Europe and North Africa, of which 3,462 t (79%) was caught in the British Isles (including the Channel Islands). The minimum landing size for H. gammarus is a carapace length of 87 mm (3.4 in).
Aquaculture systems for H. gammarus are under development, and production rates are still very low.
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