92 COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



2. NATURAL HOME AND MIGRATIONS. 



The character of the shores where the lobster lives varies from 

 rocky and precipitous to sandy or muddy. During the winter the 

 lobsters probably retreat to deeper water and burrow in the mud, 

 since the fishermen find it necessary to gradually move their traps 

 farther off shore with the approaching winter. This migration to 

 deep water is not common to all lobsters, as we find some in holes 

 along the shores which are exposed by extreme low tides during the 

 winter months. 



With the return of spring and early summer, the lobstermen move 

 their pots nearer shore. This movement of the lobsters to and from 

 shore is probably the whole extent of their migrations, and therefore 

 the restocking of the shores of a particular locality is possible. Efforts 

 are being made to get more exact data on migrations by liberating 

 tagged lobsters. Female lobsters, with eggs ready to hatch, are 

 most often caught on rocky bottoms, and lobsters ready to shed, or 

 those that have just done so, are most abundant on sandy or muddy 

 shores. Dutch Island Harbor in Narragansett Bay seems to be a 

 great shedding ground. 



In Rhode Island waters, as a result of long experience, the following 

 seasonal changes are made in setting lobster pots: 



From April 15 to the last of June the pots are set in shoal water 

 among the rocks. On this kind of bottom, and apparently on no 

 other kind, the female lobsters with " ripe eggs " (i. e. hatching) are 

 found. 



Between the above time and the latter part of August, the ex- 

 perienced lobstermen set their gear on smooth bottom — such as 

 sandy bottoms or bottoms covered with small gravel or mussels. At 

 this time of year, the lobsters which have hatched their eggs are 

 molting, and other female lobsters are beginning to extrude their 

 eggs. The absence of chogsetts and tautog from this sort of bottom, 

 renders it particularly favorable for molting and spawning. 



From the early part of September to the end of season (Nov. l.">) 

 fishing is again renewed on rocky bottoms but need not be carried on 



