Less than 24 hours after hundreds feasted on the region’s best lobster bites at the annual Claw Down in East Boothbay, the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library’s first literary luncheon of the season also featured the delectable crustacean.

University of Maine Lobster Institute Associate Director Cathy Billings, author of “The Maine Lobster Industry: A History of Culture, Conservation and Commerce,” shared lobster bisque and lobster history with literary enthusiasts at the gathering held at the Boothbay Town Office on Friday, Sept. 19.

The previous evening, Billings served as one of the Claw Down’s judges, but she, like everyone else at the library event, was more than happy for another taste of lobster.

Billings regaled attendees with amusing stories and little known facts about the lobster industry — an industry she calls the longest-standing family business in Maine.

Billings discussed the lobster fishery’s role in defining Maine’s culture and economy, and read excerpts from her book, which chronicles the complex history of the multi-billion dollar Maine fishery.

Billings traced the history of the commercial lobster fishery from the first recorded catch in 1605 to the transportation and industry innovations that allowed the expansion from local to regional and eventually global markets.

She discussed the evolution of the lobster fishery’s conservation measures over time; and accorded Maine lobster fishermen with being “conservationists before conservation was cool.”

Billings also pointed to some of the oddities of commerce that result in Maine’s lobster catch being sold as something other than “Maine” lobster.

Maine lobster landings account for 90 percent of the U.S. catch, but when Maine lobsters are flown out of Logan International Airport they are marked “Product of Boston,” Billings said.

“This is something the governor is concerned about. We want to get that ‘Product of Maine’ on our lobsters.”

Similarly, any of Maine’s catch that is processed in Canada becomes a “Product of Canada.” America is both the largest exporter to and largest importer of lobsters from Canada, Billings said.

The lure of the lobster is one of the prime reasons that tourists come to Maine, Billings said. Coastal villages are a prime draw for the state’s huge tourism industry and interest in coastal villages is tied to interest in the lobster fishery and in eating the local delicacy.

Billings also discussed some of the Lobster Institute’s ongoing projects to ensure the continued sustainability of this uniquely Maine industry.

On Oct. 10, the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library’s Literary Luncheon series continues with Brian Daniels, author of “Thoughts of an Ordinary Joe.”