The Lobster ‘Fitbit’

Crustacean fisheries are important sources of food and income to huge numbers of people around the world. Unfortunately many of these animals die in transit from the oceans to market - in the commercial fishing world - this is known as ‘shrink’.

Ultimately these animals are being taken to market to eventually be killed - however scientists have been working on several new devices to make their journey to their doom slightly more comfortable. Contrary to now outdated popular belief, at Crab Museum we believe these animals CAN feel pain.

These technological fixes aim to monitor movement, acidity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen in the transit environment. The data from these devices will then be used to improve methods of handling and to see how much stress the creatures are under.

The project is the first of its scale and by using over 3,000 lobsters across 2 years, will provide a wealth of new data on lobster fisheries. This study sits at an interesting intersection between capitalist exploitation for profit, and animal welfare.

Although these lobsters are destined to die, this ‘lobster FitBit’ may well provide new information on how the industry can be more humane.