36 ABOUT LOBSTERS 



Sea Fleas 



Sea fleas are very much of a nuisance to lobstermen. 

 They can completely eat the bait in a pot in an hour. They 

 are particularly active and numerous during one month in 

 the fall. 



LobLure tried to eliminate fleas by lining their cylindri- 

 cal wire bait container with a fine plastic screening. This 

 would effectively keep out mature fleas, but the tiny young 

 ones could squeeze in, gorge themselves on bait and be so 

 swollen they could not get out. Frequently, a heaping table- 

 spoon of such fleas would be found inside, and no bait. 



The refuse (heads, guts, and skin) of smoked** 

 herring is commonly believed to be repellent to fleas. It 

 has the pleasant odor of smoked herring, keeps indef- 

 initely, and is cheap. It can be obtained in Eastport. 

 One elderly lobsterman used it alone as a bait, and 

 claimed it fished as well as brim. He first cooked it up 

 with water and used it in a bait bag. Actual tests 

 showed it to be an inferior bait. It is not known if 

 lobstermen ever mix smoked herring scrap with their 

 regular bait in order to repel sea fleas. It might be 

 helpful. 



Measuring a Lobster 



In all New England States today a lobster is measured 

 by a metal gauge which hooks into the eye-socket at one 

 end, and over the edge of the carapace (the solid part of 

 his shell ) at the other end ( see Figure 4 ) . 



In Maine and in Massachusetts the legal length for a 

 lobster is 3 3/16 inches. 



Maine has also an oversize limit: a lobster which is 

 over 5 inches may not be taken. The idea behind this over- 

 size limit is the belief that the larger lobster will produce 

 more eggs, and thus aid in conservation. This idea is hotly 

 refuted by some lobstermen who claim that the intermediate 

 size lobsters are the greatest breeders due to their greater 

 virility, and they point to many examples in animal life 



