jorden and Nordfolda , inside the Arctic Circle .   The species can be divided into four genetically distinct populations , one widespread population , and three which have diverged due to small effective population sizes , possibly due to adaptation to the local environment . The first of these is the population of lobsters from northern Norway , which have been referred to as the " midnight @-@ sun lobster " . The populations in the Mediterranean Sea are distinct from those in the Atlantic Ocean . The last distinct population is found in the Netherlands : samples from the Oosterschelde were distinct from those collected in the North Sea or English Channel .   Attempts have been made to introduce H. gammarus to New Zealand , alongside other European species such as the edible crab , Cancer pagurus . Between 1904 and 1914 , one million lobster larvae were released from hatcheries in Dunedin , but the species did not become established there .   = = Ecology = =   Adult H. gammarus live on the continental shelf at depths of 0 – 150 metres ( 0 – 492 ft ) , although not normally deeper than 50 m ( 160 ft ) . They prefer hard substrates , such as rocks or hard mud , and live in holes or crevices , emerging at night to feed .   The diet of H. gammarus mostly consists of other benthic invertebrates . These include crabs , molluscs , sea urchins , starfish and polychaete worms .   The three clawed lobster species Homarus gammarus , H. americanus and Nephrops norvegicus are hosts to the three known species of the animal phylum Cycliophora ; the species on H. gammarus has not been described .   Homarus gammarus is susceptible to the disease gaffkaemia , caused by the bacterium Aerococcus viridans . Although it is frequently found in American lobsters , the disease has only been seen in captive H. gammarus , where prior occupation of the tanks by H. americanus could not be ruled out .   = = Human consumption = =   Homarus gammarus is traditionally " highly esteemed " as a foodstuff and was mentioned in " The Crabfish " a seventeenth century English folk song . It may fetch very high prices and may be sold fresh , frozen , canned or powdered . Both the claws and the abdomen of H. gammarus contain " excellent " white meat , and most of the contents of the cephalothorax are edible . The exceptions are the gastric mill and the " sand vein " ( gut ) . The price of H. gammarus is up to three times higher than that of H. americanus , and the European species is considered to have a better flavour .   Lobsters are mostly fished using lobster pots , although lines baited with octopus or cuttlefish sometimes succeed in tempting them out , to allow them to be caught in a net or by hand . In 2008 , 4 @,@ 386 t of H. gammarus were caught across Europe and North Africa , of which 3 @,@ 462 t ( 79 % ) was caught in the British Isles ( including the Channel Islands ) . The minimum landing size for H. gammarus is a carapace length of 87 mm ( 3 @.@ 4 in ) .   Aquaculture systems for H. gammarus are under development , and production rates are still very low .   = = Taxonomic history = =   Homarus gammarus was first given a binomial name by Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae , published in 1758 . That name was Cancer gammarus , since Linnaeus ' concept of the genus Cancer at that time included all large crustaceans .   H. gammarus is the type species of the genus Homarus Weber , 1795 , as determined by Direction 51 of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature . Prior to that direction , confusion arose because the species had been referred to by several different names , including Astacus marinus Fabricius , 1775 and Homarus vulgaris H. Milne @-@ Edwards , 1837 , and also because Friedrich Weber 's description of the genus had been overlooked until rediscovered by Mary Rathbun , rendering any prior assignments of type species ( for Homarus H. Milne @-@ Edwards , 1837 ) invalid for Homarus Weber , 1795 .   The type specimen of Homarus gammarus was a lectotype selected by Lipke Holthuis in 1974 . It came from 57 ° 53 ′ N 11 ° 32 ′ E , near Marstrand , Sweden ( 48 kilometres or 30 miles northwest of Gothenburg ) , but both it and the paralectotypes have since been lost .   The common name for H. gammarus preferred by the Food
j ord en Ġand ĠNord fold a Ġ, Ġinside Ġthe ĠArctic ĠCircle Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġspecies Ġcan Ġbe Ġdivided Ġinto Ġfour Ġgenetically Ġdistinct Ġpopulations Ġ, Ġone Ġwidespread Ġpopulation Ġ, Ġand Ġthree Ġwhich Ġhave Ġdiver ged Ġdue Ġto Ġsmall Ġeffective Ġpopulation Ġsizes Ġ, Ġpossibly Ġdue Ġto Ġadaptation Ġto Ġthe Ġlocal Ġenvironment Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġof Ġthese Ġis Ġthe Ġpopulation Ġof Ġlob sters Ġfrom Ġnorthern ĠNorway Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhave Ġbeen Ġreferred Ġto Ġas Ġthe Ġ" Ġmidnight Ġ@ - @ Ġsun Ġlobster Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe Ġpopulations Ġin Ġthe ĠMediterranean ĠSea Ġare Ġdistinct Ġfrom Ġthose Ġin Ġthe ĠAtlantic ĠOcean Ġ. ĠThe Ġlast Ġdistinct Ġpopulation Ġis Ġfound Ġin Ġthe ĠNetherlands Ġ: Ġsamples Ġfrom Ġthe ĠO ost ers che lde Ġwere Ġdistinct Ġfrom Ġthose Ġcollected Ġin Ġthe ĠNorth ĠSea Ġor ĠEnglish ĠChannel Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAttempt s Ġhave Ġbeen Ġmade Ġto Ġintroduce ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġto ĠNew ĠZealand Ġ, Ġalongside Ġother ĠEuropean Ġspecies Ġsuch Ġas Ġthe Ġedible Ġcrab Ġ, ĠCancer Ġpag urus Ġ. ĠBetween Ġ1904 Ġand Ġ1914 Ġ, Ġone Ġmillion Ġlobster Ġlarvae Ġwere Ġreleased Ġfrom Ġhat cher ies Ġin ĠDun edin Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġspecies Ġdid Ġnot Ġbecome Ġestablished Ġthere Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠEcology Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAdult ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġlive Ġon Ġthe Ġcontinental Ġshelf Ġat Ġdepths Ġof Ġ0 ĠâĢĵ Ġ150 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ0 ĠâĢĵ Ġ49 2 Ġft Ġ) Ġ, Ġalthough Ġnot Ġnormally Ġdeeper Ġthan Ġ50 Ġm Ġ( Ġ160 Ġft Ġ) Ġ. ĠThey Ġprefer Ġhard Ġsubstr ates Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas Ġrocks Ġor Ġhard Ġmud Ġ, Ġand Ġlive Ġin Ġholes Ġor Ġcre v ices Ġ, Ġemerging Ġat Ġnight Ġto Ġfeed Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġdiet Ġof ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġmostly Ġconsists Ġof Ġother Ġb enth ic Ġinver te brates Ġ. ĠThese Ġinclude Ġcrabs Ġ, Ġm oll us cs Ġ, Ġsea Ġ urch ins Ġ, Ġstar fish Ġand Ġpoly cha ete Ġworms Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġthree Ġclaw ed Ġlobster Ġspecies ĠHom arus Ġgam mar us Ġ, ĠH . Ġameric anus Ġand ĠNeph ro ps Ġnor ve g icus Ġare Ġhosts Ġto Ġthe Ġthree Ġknown Ġspecies Ġof Ġthe Ġanimal Ġph ylum ĠCycl i oph ora Ġ; Ġthe Ġspecies Ġon ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġhas Ġnot Ġbeen Ġdescribed Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠHom arus Ġgam mar us Ġis Ġsusceptible Ġto Ġthe Ġdisease Ġg aff ka emia Ġ, Ġcaused Ġby Ġthe Ġbacter ium ĠAer ococ cus Ġvir id ans Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġit Ġis Ġfrequently Ġfound Ġin ĠAmerican Ġlob sters Ġ, Ġthe Ġdisease Ġhas Ġonly Ġbeen Ġseen Ġin Ġcaptive ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġ, Ġwhere Ġprior Ġoccupation Ġof Ġthe Ġtanks Ġby ĠH . Ġameric anus Ġcould Ġnot Ġbe Ġruled Ġout Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠHuman Ġconsumption Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠHom arus Ġgam mar us Ġis Ġtraditionally Ġ" Ġhighly Ġesteemed Ġ" Ġas Ġa Ġfood stuff Ġand Ġwas Ġmentioned Ġin Ġ" ĠThe ĠCrab fish Ġ" Ġa Ġsevent eenth Ġcentury ĠEnglish Ġfolk Ġsong Ġ. ĠIt Ġmay Ġfetch Ġvery Ġhigh Ġprices Ġand Ġmay Ġbe Ġsold Ġfresh Ġ, Ġfrozen Ġ, Ġcanned Ġor Ġpowdered Ġ. ĠBoth Ġthe Ġclaws Ġand Ġthe Ġabdomen Ġof ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġcontain Ġ" Ġexcellent Ġ" Ġwhite Ġmeat Ġ, Ġand Ġmost Ġof Ġthe Ġcontents Ġof Ġthe Ġc ep hal oth or ax Ġare Ġedible Ġ. ĠThe Ġexceptions Ġare Ġthe Ġgast ric Ġmill Ġand Ġthe Ġ" Ġsand Ġvein Ġ" Ġ( Ġgut Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġprice Ġof ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġis Ġup Ġto Ġthree Ġtimes Ġhigher Ġthan Ġthat Ġof ĠH . Ġameric anus Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠEuropean Ġspecies Ġis Ġconsidered Ġto Ġhave Ġa Ġbetter Ġflavour Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠLob sters Ġare Ġmostly Ġf ished Ġusing Ġlobster Ġpots Ġ, Ġalthough Ġlines Ġba ited Ġwith Ġoct opus Ġor Ġcut tle fish Ġsometimes Ġsucceed Ġin Ġtempting Ġthem Ġout Ġ, Ġto Ġallow Ġthem Ġto Ġbe Ġcaught Ġin Ġa Ġnet Ġor Ġby Ġhand Ġ. ĠIn Ġ2008 Ġ, Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ386 Ġt Ġof ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġwere Ġcaught Ġacross ĠEurope Ġand ĠNorth ĠAfrica Ġ, Ġof Ġwhich Ġ3 Ġ@ , @ Ġ4 62 Ġt Ġ( Ġ79 Ġ% Ġ) Ġwas Ġcaught Ġin Ġthe ĠBritish ĠIsles Ġ( Ġincluding Ġthe ĠChannel ĠIslands Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe Ġminimum Ġlanding Ġsize Ġfor ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġis Ġa Ġcar ap ace Ġlength Ġof Ġ87 Ġmm Ġ( Ġ3 Ġ@ . @ Ġ4 Ġin Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAqu ac ulture Ġsystems Ġfor ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġare Ġunder Ġdevelopment Ġ, Ġand Ġproduction Ġrates Ġare Ġstill Ġvery Ġlow Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠTax onomic Ġhistory Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠHom arus Ġgam mar us Ġwas Ġfirst Ġgiven Ġa Ġbin omial Ġname Ġby ĠCarl ĠLin na eus Ġin Ġthe Ġtenth Ġedition Ġof Ġhis ĠSystem a ĠN atur ae Ġ, Ġpublished Ġin Ġ17 58 Ġ. ĠThat Ġname Ġwas ĠCancer Ġgam mar us Ġ, Ġsince ĠLin na eus Ġ' Ġconcept Ġof Ġthe Ġgenus ĠCancer Ġat Ġthat Ġtime Ġincluded Ġall Ġlarge Ġcrust ace ans Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġis Ġthe Ġtype Ġspecies Ġof Ġthe Ġgenus ĠHom arus ĠWeber Ġ, Ġ17 95 Ġ, Ġas Ġdetermined Ġby ĠDirection Ġ51 Ġof Ġthe ĠInternational ĠCommission Ġon ĠZo ological ĠN omen cl ature Ġ. ĠPrior Ġto Ġthat Ġdirection Ġ, Ġconfusion Ġarose Ġbecause Ġthe Ġspecies Ġhad Ġbeen Ġreferred Ġto Ġby Ġseveral Ġdifferent Ġnames Ġ, Ġincluding ĠAst acus Ġmar inus ĠFabric ius Ġ, Ġ17 75 Ġand ĠHom arus Ġvulgar is ĠH . ĠMil ne Ġ@ - @ ĠEdwards Ġ, Ġ18 37 Ġ, Ġand Ġalso Ġbecause ĠFriedrich ĠWeber Ġ' s Ġdescription Ġof Ġthe Ġgenus Ġhad Ġbeen Ġoverlooked Ġuntil Ġred iscovered Ġby ĠMary ĠRath b un Ġ, Ġrendering Ġany Ġprior Ġassignments Ġof Ġtype Ġspecies Ġ( Ġfor ĠHom arus ĠH . ĠMil ne Ġ@ - @ ĠEdwards Ġ, Ġ18 37 Ġ) Ġinvalid Ġfor ĠHom arus ĠWeber Ġ, Ġ17 95 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġtype Ġspecimen Ġof ĠHom arus Ġgam mar us Ġwas Ġa Ġlect otype Ġselected Ġby ĠLip ke ĠHol th u is Ġin Ġ1974 Ġ. ĠIt Ġcame Ġfrom Ġ57 ĠÂ° Ġ53 ĠâĢ ² ĠN Ġ11 ĠÂ° Ġ32 ĠâĢ ² ĠE Ġ, Ġnear ĠMar str and Ġ, ĠSweden Ġ( Ġ48 Ġkilometres Ġor Ġ30 Ġmiles Ġnorthwest Ġof ĠGot hen burg Ġ) Ġ, Ġbut Ġboth Ġit Ġand Ġthe Ġpar al ect otypes Ġhave Ġsince Ġbeen Ġlost Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcommon Ġname Ġfor ĠH . Ġgam mar us Ġpreferred Ġby Ġthe ĠFood