Don't Free Lobsters into Puget Sound

For all you Seattle-area residents who have thought of buying a live lobster just to free it into Puget Sound...don't do it.

Last summer, I spent a number of shopping trips walking by live lobsters with their claws taped up at the local Albertsons'. I felt guilty and angry and I hatched all sorts of plots on buying them and freeing them somewhere. By the time they disappeared, I finally decided that I was going to be ready for the next summer.

So, I started researching conditions around here for releasing lobsters. It didn't look like it was a good idea. So I contacted the Northwest Animal Rights Network for their opinion.

The answer was a gentle no. Lobsters are not native to these waters. Introducing a non-native species could have negative impacts on the ecosystem and the native species already here. Plus, even if you keep buying the lobsters, you're just creating fake demand which will lead to a larger supply. In other words, Albertsons' will just keep restocking.

So, the only thing to do is talk to people and convince them not to buy live lobsters. Much less exciting though....