The lobster pots used today are similar to the pots that have been used throughout the Northeast for decades, but in recent years several improvements have been implemented by the lobster industry. One recent improvement has increased the size of the opening in the pots which allow more young and undersized lobster to return to open waters. Jeff Carbone, owner of the Portland Lobster Company in Huntington, Long Island is one of several large lobster wholesalers who supply retail stores and restaurants with lobsters caught locally and throughout the Northeast and Canada. He and his family have been in the lobster business for 30 years and he knows his lobsters. Long Island lobsters are as good a buy as those available anywhere in the Northeast, especially in the fall when they're packed full of meat.
Lobsters have a unique lifestyle.
Adult lobsters live and feed on rocky bottoms like those commonly found in the Sound along Long Island's north shore. Lobsters generally spend their lives in or around the same locality and don't tend to migrate far. They are nocturnal animals that generally avoid sunlight, and will seek out crevices in the rocks to spend the daylight hours, especially in shallow waters. Lobsters eat a variety of slow moving bottom dwelling shellfish like mussels, clams, sea urchins, starfish, worms and crabs. They can even catch small fish.