Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A n adult male lobster will grow a new shell and shed its old
one about once a year, females once every two years, increasing
an average of half an inch and a third of a pound with each molt.
During its early growth stages, a lobster is believed to shed some
25 times over five to seven years.
After a molt, a lobster's shell takes about eight weeks to
harden.
M aine coastal waters have provided over 105 million lobsters
over the past five years.
Data provided by the staff of the Mount Desert Island Oceanarium in Southwest
Harbor and Bar Harbor Oceanarium on Route 3.
Lobster Buoys & Traps
Colorful lobster buoys float in great number along rocky shores and
ledges. Each fisherman registers his uniquely colored and patterned
buoys with the state. No two license holders have the same buoys. When
a fisherman is hauling his traps he must have one of his buoys promi-
nently displayed on the top of his wheelhouse to prove he's pulling the
right ones.
Traps are “set” by throwing them over the side with a piece of “pot warp”
or rope attached to a buoy. Some fishermen use a small, plain, doughnut-
shaped float called a “toggle” down line from the buoy. Traps are set in
lines along familiar landmarks or underwater ridges. They are moved
seasonally as the lobsters come inshore in summer and head offshore to
deeper water in winter. Sometimes, when a particular area is producing
plenty of “keeper” or legal-sized lobsters, a fisherman will put more than
one trap on a single buoy. That is so other fishermen don't notice a sudden
increase in the number of a competitor's traps and realize where the hot
spot is.
Ghost Traps
When a buoy is cut from a trap, either accidentally by a passing
power boat, by bad weather, or during feuds over fishing territo-
ries called “lobster wars,” a trap will continue to catch lobsters.
Such a trap is called a “ghost trap.”
