After reading the letter from Scott Miller, a staff writer from PETA, in the Dec. 1 Press Herald (“Whole Foods makes mindful choice by ending Maine lobster sales”), I felt compelled to write and offer what I have learned about lobsters in my 50-plus years of fishing for them.

Mr. Miller states that lobsters have a sophisticated nervous system, like people. This is patently false. Lobsters have segmented ganglia (nerve clusters) to control most behaviors. There is no centralized brain, and there is no comparison to the brains of mammals – especially humans.

Humans have about 86 billion neurons in their brain. Lobsters (and insects) have about 100,000 in the associated ganglia.

A lot of available information would seem to contradict Mr. Miller’s assertion that lobsters are intelligent, complex creatures that establish social relationships. One fact I have witnessed is a lobster’s cannibalistic nature. If a lobster becomes immobile in a trap, (i.e., claw stuck in the wire), then said lobster will be eaten alive by his or her trapmates. I guess this means lobsters are at least smart enough to recognize a meal when they sense it.

Finally, for Whole Foods to stop selling lobsters because of the industry being dropped from two sustainability labels is a knee-jerk reaction. Maybe they could have investigated the actual facts of this issue. They would have seen an industry committed to sustainability and minimizing risk to whales. It remains to be seen what future regulations will be.

Michael Floyd
Long Island

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