II 



Means of Catching 



Early practices. The primitive method of catching lob- 

 sters was by means of a hooked staff resembling a shep- 

 herd's crook. This was thrust into the lobster's hiding place 

 exposed at low tide, and the lobster withdrawn by the hook. 

 For many years on the coast of Norway, lobsters were taken 

 with wooden tongs about twelve feet long and adapted for 

 use in shallow water. All the catch taken by such means 

 were more or less severely injured in the taking, and were 

 unfit for transportation. 



The gaffing of lobsters from small boats was a common 

 practice in the early history of the American fishery, and in 

 the period of plenty from 1850 to 1860, a fisherman could 

 take 150 lobsters in a single morning. These devices were 

 followed by the hoop net which consisted of a circular iron 



ring four feet in diameter, across 

 which netting was loosely 

 stretched to form a bag net (see 

 Figure 5). Bait was secured at 

 the center of the net and four 

 ropes secured around the cir- 

 cumference leading into a single 

 rope for hauling the trap. These 

 nets were hauled every fifteen 

 minutes, so apparently the lob- 

 sterman had only a few of them, 

 and rowed around tending each 

 frequently. It is an interesting 

 commentary on the plentifulness 

 of lobsters that hoop nets could 

 be effective. The majority of 

 lobsters attracted to the bait 

 would remain on the net during 

 Fig. 5. Hoop net the short periods between haul- 



ings. Hoop nets were the common trap up to the time of the 



