Science: Lobster Bodega

Mass-produced delight

No other delicacy from the sea seems to excite American palates as much as Homarus americanus, more familiarly known as the lobster. Americans consumed some 50 million lbs. last year, and recent OPEC-style price increases in the retail cost of lobsters (up 145% per Ib. since 1969) have not curbed the U.S. appetite for the clawed crustaceans. By 1985 the National Marine Fisheries Service projects nearly a doubling of demand, to about 90 million lbs. But where will these lobsters come from?

Marine biologists point out that lobsters are already being dangerously...

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