Editing Homarus gammarus (section)

==Human consumption==
{{Main|Lobster#As food}}
[[File:Lobster pots at Craster harbour - 2005-06-25.jpg|thumb|right|[[Lobster trap|Lobster pots]] on the harbour wall at [[Craster]], [[Northumberland]]|alt=Lobster pots stand on top of each other, in four rows of 6, 7, 8 and 9, respectively. Each has a wooden base and a metal hoop at either end and a crossbar, which collectively hold up a cover of netting.]]
''Homarus gammarus'' is traditionally "highly esteemed" as a foodstuff and was mentioned in "[[The Crabfish]]" a seventeenth century English [[folk song]].<ref>''[[Bishop Percy's Folio]] Manuscript: loose and humorous songs'' ed. Frederick J. Furnivall. London, 1868</ref> It may fetch very high prices<ref name="MLW"/> and may be sold fresh, frozen, canned or powdered.<ref name="MLW"/> Both the claws and the abdomen of ''H.&nbsp;gammarus'' contain "excellent" [[white meat]],<ref name="Davidson_Mediterranean">{{cite book |first=Alan |last=Davidson |year=2002 |title=Mediterranean Seafood: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes |edition=3rd |publisher=[[Ten Speed Press]] |isbn=978-1-58008-451-2 |chapter=Lobster |page=178 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r5To-F4DKRcC&pg=PA178}}</ref> and most of the contents of the [[cephalothorax]] are edible. The exceptions are the [[gastric mill]] and the "sand vein" ([[gut (zoology)|gut]]).<ref name="Davidson_Mediterranean"/> The price of ''H.&nbsp;gammarus'' is up to three times higher than that of ''H.&nbsp;americanus'', and the European species is considered to be more flavorful.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Sara Barrento |author2=António Marques |author3=Bárbara Teixeira |author4=Paulo Vaz-Pires |author5=Maria Leonor Nunes |year=2009 |title=Nutritional quality of the edible tissues of European lobster ''Homarus gammarus'' and American lobster ''Homarus americanus'' |journal=[[Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry]] |volume=57 |issue=9 |pages=3645–3652 |doi=10.1021/jf900237g |pmid=19334784}}</ref>

Lobsters are mostly [[lobster fishing|fished]] using [[lobster trap|lobster pots]], although [[Handline fishing|lines]] [[Fishing bait|baited]] with [[octopus]] or [[cuttlefish]] sometimes succeed in tempting them out, to allow them to be caught in a net or by hand.<ref name="MLW"/> In 2008, 4,386&nbsp;t of ''H.&nbsp;gammarus'' were caught across Europe and North Africa, of which 3,462&nbsp;t (79%) was caught in the [[British Isles]] (including the [[Channel Islands]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/global-production/en |title=Fishery Statistical Collections. Global Production |work=Fisheries Global Information System |publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]] |access-date=September 30, 2010}}</ref> The [[minimum landing size]] for ''H.&nbsp;gammarus'' is a carapace length of {{convert|87|mm|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Minimum fish sizes |url=http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/fisheries/documents/fisheries/minimumfishsizes.pdf |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20091106034638/http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/fisheries/documents/fisheries/minimumfishsizes.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 6, 2009 |publisher=[[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]] |access-date=September 30, 2010 }}</ref> To protect known breeding females, lobsters caught carrying eggs are to be notched on a uropod, the inner tail flap of female lobsters of reproductive size (usually above the minimum landing size 87mm carapace length). Following this, it is illegal for the female to be kept or sold, and is commonly referred to as a "v-notch". This notch remains for three molts of the lobster exoskeleton, providing harvest protection and continued breeding availability for 3–5 years.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Lobsters and Crawfish (Prohibition of Fishing and Landing) Order 2000|url=http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/html/uk19828.htm|publisher=Crown Copyright 2000|access-date=28 December 2017|ref=ISBN 0 11 099017 X|archive-date=4 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204214005/http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/html/uk19828.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Aquaculture]] systems for ''H.&nbsp;gammarus'' are under development, and production rates are still very low.<ref name="Genimpact"/>