Do Whales Really Eat Lobsters?

Lobsters are crustaceans that inhabit rocky, sandy, or muddy bottoms of coastal waters. They are a popular seafood item for humans but do whales also eat lobsters in the wild? Let’s take a look at the lobster’s place in the ocean food chain and which marine mammals feast on these shelled creatures.

The Role of the Lobster in the Ocean

Lobsters are omnivores and opportunistic scavengers. They eat fish, mollusks, worms, sea urchins, algae, and even dead animals.
As bottom dwellers, lobsters are preyed upon by many larger predator species in the ocean. Their main natural predators are large, bottom-feeding fish.
Common lobster predators include cod, haddock, skates, nurse sharks, moray eels, and octopuses. Crabs and sea otters also eat lobsters
Whales don’t specifically hunt for lobsters to eat. But some whale species do occasionally consume bottom-dwelling creatures like lobsters incidentally.

Do Baleen Whales Like Right Whales Eat Lobsters?

Baleen whales like humpbacks, rights, and blues feed by filtering huge volumes of water for tiny plankton and small fish.
These whales are not equipped to rip open lobster shells and do not actively pursue them as prey. Their throats are too narrow to swallow whole lobsters.
Any incidental ingestion of lobsters by these giant filter feeders is extremely rare. Baleen whales do not rely on shelled lobsters in their diet.
The endangered North Atlantic right whale’s interactions with the lobster fishing industry revolve around gear entanglement, not predation or feeding.

What About Toothed Whales Like Dolphins and Orcas?

Toothed whales like orcas and dolphins sometimes eat lobsters since they are capable of crushing the shells.
Orcas crunch up lobsters with their powerful jaws. Bottlenose dolphins have been observed tossing lobsters into the air repeatedly to weaken the shell before eating.
But lobsters make up a very small portion of toothed whales’ varied fish and marine mammal diet. They are an incidental, opportunistic snack.
Dolphins and orcas are much more likely to feed on squid, cod, tuna, seals, sea lions, and other prey. Lobsters are not a dietary staple.

Key Points on Whales and Lobsters

Lobsters are not a primary food source for any whale species. They are eaten only occasionally and incidentally.
Right whales and other baleen whales do not have the ability to eat hard-shelled lobsters. Only toothed whales can crunch the shells.
Predation of lobsters by whales is very rare. Whales target softer prey like krill, small fish and squid.
The major threat lobster fishing poses to right whales involves entanglement in gear, not food competition.
From a conservation standpoint, reducing lobster trap lines in key whale habitats can help reduce entanglement risks.

While lobsters may fall prey to certain whales in isolated cases, these crustaceans are not a targeted food source for most marine mammals. Protecting right whales involves reducing threats like ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements rather than curbing lobster consumption. Through strategic gear modifications and restrictions, the needs of both lobster fisheries and endangered whales can be balanced.

do whales eat lobsters

1 Lily’s Vegan Pantry

New York-based Lily’s Vegan Pantry, which used to be known as May Wah Vegetarian Market, offers a wide range of different vegan seafood products, and lobster is no exception. The brand’s plant-based version of the crustacean is made with yam flour. It’s even shaped like a lobster, and cooked in the same way, too, in boiling water (only you can be sure there’s no suffering going on).Get it here

Online marketplace NoPigNeva strives to offer vegans, vegetarians, and flexitarians an easy plant-based shopping experience. Its main goal is to provide an ethical alternative to every food craving you could ever have, including the products that are hard to find, like vegan lobster. The brand’s offering is the same as Lily’s Vegan Pantry’s, and aims to give you “a little taste of Maine without a trip to the ocean.”get it here

The North Atlantic right whale is in trouble, and the lobster industry may be to blame. Here’s why it’s time to try vegan lobster instead.

A lot of important people came to President Joe Biden’s first state dinner at the White House in November 2022. Around 200 live lobsters from Maine, the center of the US lobster industry, were flown in to celebrate the event, which was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and meant to honor the relationship between France and the US. The lobsters were then killed and served with caviar.

But the choice to serve lobster at the prestigious event sparked controversy. Many activists and environmentalists, for example, were outraged. The North Atlantic right whale is being severely affected by the practice of catching large groups of lobsters. This is because research shows that boiling lobsters alive is cruel because they can feel pain.

They found that there were probably only 340 North Atlantic right whales left in the ocean in 2021. The next year, Seafood Watch, a group that gives advice on seafood based on science, added American Lobster to its list of seafood to “avoid.” There was a direct link between the two events: the way lobsters are caught traps right whales, which makes their already slim chances of survival even worse.

To help the whales, stop eating lobster. Read on to find out more, plus find out where to buy vegan lobster the next time you’re hungry.

Lobsters vs Trigger Fish | Trials Of Life | BBC Earth

FAQ

What eats lobsters?

In general, a variety of bottom-dwelling species feed on lobster, including fish, sharks, rays, skates, octopuses, and crabs. Young lobsters are especially vulnerable to predators.

Is lobster fishing bad for whales?

“It just shows and confirms what we as scientists have been thinking, that this Maine fishery is a threat to right whales just as much as any other fishery within their habitat,” said Julia Singer, a marine biologist with the advocacy group Oceana. These whales are on the brink.

Is eating lobster bad for the environment?

For example, shrimp and lobster have higher carbon emissions because boats have to constantly stop and start to place/collect traps. Salmon have much lower emissions as they are easy to harvest and found relatively close to shore. Emissions from plant-based proteins are directly related to their protein density.

Do sharks eat lobsters?

They eat fish, lobsters, birds, turtles, dead animals, even garbage, and may feed whenever a food source is present. It’s not known why tiger sharks sometimes bite humans. The idea that they mistake a person for a natural prey item, such as a turtle, is not supported by any evidence.