ABOUT LOBSTERS 



ably from the beginning of the nineteenth century. Ob- 

 servers believed that this decline in Massachusetts pro- 

 duction was due to increased fishing intensity, lack of 

 conservation, and a greater demand for the product. 



It was during the decade 1840 to 1850 that Massa- 

 chusetts dealers began looking to the Maine lobster 

 grounds for a continuing supply of the species. Al- 

 though some lobster fishing was done by local fisher- 

 men, even on a commercial scale, a large part of the 

 annual catch was taken by Massachusetts boats operat- 

 ing in Maine waters. 



Incidents comparable to the experience of one 

 Captain Church and his smack Monticello in New Har- 

 bor are characteristic of the early development of the 

 lobster industry in Maine. Church and his crew sailed 

 into New Harbor in 1853 and began lobster fishing. 

 Using hoop-net pots, Church's fishing operations were 

 so intensive and his catch so large that the citizens of 

 New Harbor threatened to drive him out of the harbor 

 unless he ceased " catching up all the lobsters." 



Production of lobsters on a commercial scale is be- 

 lieved to have been started in Western Maine waters 

 about 1840. Gradually the fishery extended eastward, 

 to Penobscot Bay by the late 1840's and to Eastport by 

 1855. It would appear that the bulk of the fishing was 

 carried on by non-resident fishermen. 



A demand for the fresh product in the large mar- 

 keting areas of New York and Boston induced both 

 resident and non-resident fishermen to specialize in the 

 catching of lobsters; however, the history of the Maine 

 canning industry indicates that the processing of lob- 

 ster meat in hermetically sealed containers did more to 

 stimulate the widespread exploitation of the resource 

 than did the fresh market. 



It is noteworthy that " the introduction of the lob- 

 ster canning process at Eastport .... dates the begin- 

 ning of the extensive canning interests of the United 

 States in all its branches." 



