The European lobster lives the most part of its life alone in a hole or under a stone. It has large claws and as soon as an enemy approaches, it first threatens with its claws. If that doesn't work, it can swim very rapidly backwards. Adult specimen can grow to 1 meter long. However in the Netherlands, they rarely grow so large partially due to overfishing. European lobsters must shed in order to grow. After discarding their old shell, they definitely need their hole to protect them; their new shell takes a long time to harden, making them easy prey.