Fishermen and managers, however, are working together to develop management measures which will help insure adequate egg production to sustain the resource and fishery. Egg-bearing females are also protected and if caught, must be placed back in the sea. Lobster traps must also have biodegradable escape panels which will create a large opening and neutralize the fishing potential of a lost trap. They may exhibit minimal migratory behavior. Larger, more mobile, adult lobsters may inhabit deeper waters and may return seasonally to shallow warmer waters.
Female lobsters can carry live sperm for up to two years.
At any time she may decide to fertilize her 3,000-75,000 eggs. By law, a female lobster carrying eggs must be thrown back if it is caught. Lobsters come in just about every color but red. They can be blue, light yellow, greenish-brown, grey, dusty orange, some calico, and some with spots. However, they all turn red when they hit hot water.