While we're talking lobsters

Shell diseased lobster
Originally uploaded by para_sight1

I was going through my Flickr collection and came across this shot of a lobster, Homarus americanus, showing typical signs of epizootic shell disease. This is an emerging problem in Southern New England, wherein lobsters show these unsightly ulcers that erode down into their shells, eating away the hard parts until,all thats left is like rice paper. This one is mostly typical in that the lesions start in the middle of the back. Why? Its not well understood, but it is the only part of the body they can't reach to groom, so that may be part of it. Current evidence says ESD lesions are caused by bacteria and that one bug in particular, Aequimarina homari, is pretty important, but the environmental triggers are unknown. Any way you slice it, its not good for lobsters and certainly no good for the lobster industry.