The lobster catcher

I am fairly sure there are more eloquent last words that a crab deserves to hear before being bashed over the head, anything other than "Sorry dude". But this is my first time I've killed a live creature, and its madly swivelling eyes are making me have second thoughts about going through with it. If I don't do it, Magnus (the fisherman's helper) will, and I've already just seen him very efficiently decimate other crabs, and stuff them in the cages to act as chum for lobsters.

It's hard to express what it feels like once the job is done, other than that it is a job that needed to be done. Some people might balk at crabs being killed to act as bait for lobsters (but are then very happy to devour the lobster that has been caught), but I have a relatively unsentimental view when it comes to this type of meat-eater squeamishness.

Fellow lobster catcher Kirsty is up next, but she makes the mistake of naming hers George, and as she is struggling with her conscience the crab seizes the opportunity to leap...sadly at Magnus's feet. Crack, crack, bash, and he stuffs it into the chum bag.

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We're not in some torture camp for crabs, rather a brilliantly titled 'lobster safari' in West Sweden. Unlike other animal safaris, we aren't here to take pictures; the idea is that we can tag along with a local fisherman to help pull up the lobster cages, and see how the whole process unfurls. Johann, whose boat we have invaded, silently smokes a cigarette, dispensing sage advice when needed: "Don't get your glove stuck in the winch." I get my glove stuck in the winch. Johann sighs.

Accompanying us is his girlfriend Karen who tells us about the lobster auction. "Lobster season starts on the first Monday after the 20th of September, going on until April" she says, pulling her hat down over her head to protect her ears from the sharp breeze that has picked up. We are all wearing very sturdy, thermal dungarees courtesy of Johann. They are toasty, dry and ably fend off wind and sprays of water. "There is an auction for the first lobster that is caught - sometimes it can sell for around £5,000." We whistle in shock.

All of a sudden, a terrific pong pervades the air. Magnus has lifted the lid on the rotten fish bucket that is used to prime the chum. He solemnly says to Karen, pointing a finger at the ominous pail, "That is what we will use to baptise you." We all move a few inches away from it.

The dark black waters of the Baltic surround us, occasionally reflecting the sharp, bright blue of the sky overhead. Tiny islands mark our seemingly meandering route, some carpeted in pale brown grass, while tufts of wild flowers sprout out of rocky nooks. Seagulls turn the air white whenever a lobster cage is pulled up from the depths, descending in a rush to snap up the flying crab claws.

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West Sweden's waters are rich with particularly tasty seafood (some fishermen also run shellfish safaris) - they even ship crates of it over to Stockholm. The Koster Islands, close to the Norwegian border, are a good introduction to the area - it is also home to Sweden's first marine park. The journey there is a bit convoluted - I fly into Gothenburg, take a bus to port town Strömstad, and then take a ferry to Ekenäs - but public transport in Sweden is good, efficient and easy to navigate.

Once I arrive in Ekenäs, the peace and quiet unwrinkles all the tiredness. Fishermen's shacks line the waterfront, and perched up on a slight hill is the Sydkoster hotel Ekenäs, whose lights glow like a welcome beacon for weary travellers tripping off the ferry.

The rooms are fairly basic in a minimalist Scandinavian sort of way, but they are warm and piled with blankets. If this is your first impression of the hotel, then prepare for a swift about-turn when you enter the main dining room.

A log fire roars in the corner, around which several deep armchairs are clustered. The room is large, with high ceilings, and each table is lit with candles.

But even all this is just scenery compared to the real draw: the food. Fresh, local ingredients are put together creating meals that range from simple to well-crafted (for instance, the lobster bisque). It is the kind of authentic Swedish food that makes you long for a second stomach simply to stuff more in and prolong the ecstasy.

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My first meal was a simple sandwich - I expected something ordinary, what I received was two beautiful, thick hunks of Swedish bread studded with salt and an enormous wedge of fresh, delicious shrimp, dill and mayonnaise. The second was after the safari, which was perfectly cooked pork knuckle and root vegetable puree. My plate gleamed afterwards.

I had heard that my third meal was to be the four-course lobster dinner, which previous guests warned me was fairly sizeable. To work up an appetite, I borrowed a rusty bicycle sitting outside the hotel, and set off at a reasonable pace to explore the island's interior. I am a fairly poor cyclist - any journey usually involves a medley of screaming, requiring a two-foot berth from cars and stopping to catch my breath - however on Ekenäs, there are no cars. It truly is a bad cyclist's dream.

I whirred past large holiday houses and rows of colourful mailboxes at an even clip, on fairly flat, empty roads. On occasion, a few people put-putted past me, on converted motorised bicycles, but by the time I reached a beautiful stretch of the road, where fields of pale shaggy grass stretched out to the horizon, I had the view all to myself.

I pedalled up to Koster gardens - where nothing much happens over winter but is home to a very good restaurant and café - and then back again, past the church. By the time I returned to the hotel, I was ravenous and ready to plough through the dinner - an exquisite procession of food that began with popcorn dusted in lobster-infused salt.

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Then came the bisque - strong-flavoured and accompanied by bread, followed by a local cheese dish. The lobster served as the main course was one of the three we had caught earlier in the day. It was simply cooked and superb - boiled and garnished with only lemon.

Although I didn't quite look it in the eye before chowing down, there was something irredeemably satisfying about eating something that I had pulled up out of the water that very same day. The lobster, no doubt, probably hadn't felt the same.

Sort my trip:
Sydkoster hotel Ekenäs provide a three-day lobster experience, with two nights' accommodation, lobster safari, all meals including four-course lobster dinner and a cycle tour of the island costing £359pp (based on two sharing). For more details, visit the website. Poorna's trip was organised by West Sweden's tourist board.