It is the cold water in this area, causing them to grow slowly, that makes them particularly flavoursome and of such high quality. Lobster safaris for visiting tourists are becoming increasingly popular along the Bohuslän coast and a number of hotels organise lobster fishing trips. These involve trips out to sea on a fishing boat, guided by the captain, followed by the chance to help prepare the lobster at the hotel, and a delicious meal based around the day’s catch to finish. In Sweden, lobster can be found along the coasts of Skagerrak, Kattegat and northern Öresund and lobster fishing is allowed from the first Monday after the 20 September until 30 April. Lobster may only be caught using lobster pots and to be caught, the lobster’s carapace must measure at least 8cm. To get specific, lobsters live in fairly shallow waters (3-40m), on stony or rocky sea beds, and have several colour pigments, including blue and red. A lobster shell is usually black, but if one of the pigments is missing, the lobster can look red or, very occasionally, blue. It is when cooked that it takes on its familiar red-pink colour. A lobster can be  22-70cm long and weigh up to 5kg, even though lobsters over 1kg are fairly unusual. It can live to be over fifty years old. The rate of growth varies a lot, which is why a portion-sized lobster (400g) can be anything from three to over ten years old.

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