Nicola Twilley is diving deep into the culinary and ecological history of the crustacean on the latest episode of Gastropod. "And I'm Nicola Twilley, and this episode we're considering the lobster," she says, kicking off a detailed exploration of the fishery's past and present.
Twilley takes on the role of what she calls a "lobster realtor" to explain how Ice Age glaciers shaped the Gulf of Maine into a haven of rocky nooks and crannies. She points out that the region is blessed with an abundance of "these huge, obstreperous bugs" that rely on the seafloor to hide from predators.
But the boom in lobster population is met with severe economic headwinds. Twilley notes that while skyrocketing lobster numbers are "deeply confusing for scientists, but A-okay for lobstermen," the market itself has taken a massive hit, particularly because "lobstermen have been on the losing side of a trade war with China."
As the industry navigates these choppy waters, the future of the lobster trade remains highly uncertain. Twilley's reporting highlights how quickly local ecological success can be overshadowed by the harsh realities of global commerce.