ABOUT LOBSTERS 43 



This might be because of chemical action of sea * * 

 water on the zinc used in galvanizing, producing an of- 

 fensive chemical. Or it might be that ocean currents 

 can vibrate the wire in such a way as to scare the lob- 

 sters. The experimental traps described on page 44 

 have stiff metal screening, and they are reported to fish 

 well. However, stainless steel would seem to overcome 

 this objection, and even with galvanized metals the sur- 

 face can be coated with a plastic skin, which would 

 eliminate the action of sea water on zinc. 3 



The minute a practical pot made of metal is designed, 

 most of the lost weight from the buoyancy of wood will be 

 eliminated, and the weight of the metal in the pot will take 

 the place of much of the present ballast. 



Remember that it is the weight per square foot of a pot 

 underwater which determines how well it hugs the ocean 

 floor. Thus, if the base of the present pot had half of its 

 area, the pressure per square foot on the ocean floor would 

 be doubled. 



A second criticism of lobster pots in use is that the loss 

 of pots each year is amazing and averages close to 33 per 

 cent. This is much too high a loss, and any design which 

 would cut this percentage would not only make lobstering 

 more profitable, but would permit a lobsterman to fish 

 longer at each end of the season, when the heavy storms and 

 loss of pots now make lobstering unprofitable. 



To understand why pots are lost, it is necessary to con- 

 jecture what happens during a storm. In the first place, it 

 will be recalled by any student of high school physics that 

 the action of waves in a bad storm is a circular action reach- 

 ing to 60 feet in depth. Since this is a common depth for 

 lobster fishing in summer months, most pots are affected by 

 storms. 



During a storm, it is probable that kelp is pressed * * 

 against the side of a pot, closing the openings between 

 the slats and affording a considerable resistance to the 



3 See page 102. 



