Save the Lobster!

EU brings in restrictions to protect gourmet's favourite crustacean from overfishing

The perfectly prepared lobster is a dish guaranteed to fill foodies with delight. But before this luxury treat can be brought to the table in future, the cook may have to add another utensil to their knives and cooking pots: a tape measure.

With demand for the crustaceans at a high, fishermen around the UK are catching large numbers of under-sized lobsters, and are struggling to sustain themselves in the industry.

Now, with fears that not enough lobsters are being left to breed, the Government is proposing raising the minimum length lobsters must be before being caught.

Officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have asked the fishing industry, suppliers and environmentalists for their views on plans to increase the legal minimum length restriction on lobsters when caught from at least 87mm long to 90mm.

This equates to around two years of life, giving female lobsters - considered to be the tastiest delicacies - more time to produce young.

Size Matters

Lobsters are already subject to a legal minimum length restriction: their bodies must be at least 87mm long when they are caught. The Government wants to increase this to 90mm.