640 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



New England Lobster Fishery 



Although the number and weight of lobsters caught annually in New England 

 has decreased rapidly during the past 50 years, this fishery is still one of the most 

 important fishing industries of that section of the country. The lobster catch in 

 1945 is given by states in Table 141. The total number of traps which were li- 

 censed in 1945 was 464,826; therefore, the average weight of lobsters taken per 

 trap was 48 pounds in the New England States. 



Table 141. Production of Lobsters by States for 1945. 



In Maine the lobster fishery is by far the most important fishing industry of the 

 State; the value of the lobsters caught is about 36 per cent of that of all fishery 

 products landed. The demand for live lobsters has forced the retail price to lux- 

 ury limits. However, this rapid rise in price has kept the value of the lobster fish- 

 ery up in spite of the rapidly decreasing annual catch. 



The figures given in Table 141 indicate that over half of the New England 

 lobsters are caught in Maine, and that Massachusetts and New Hampshire are also 

 important lobster-producing states. 



Some lobsters are also caught in New York, New Jersey, and Delaware, but 

 this industry is comparatively unimportant. 



Methods of Fishing. Pots. Lobsters are captured in traps called pots or creels 

 which vary greatly in shape and dimensions in different sections of the country, 

 but which operate on the same principle. In general they consist of oblong lath 

 boxes in which bait is placed. These pots have one or more funnel-shaped open- 

 ings, usually inclined obliquely upward, through which the lobsters pass in their 

 search for food. Once inside the trap relatively few are able to escape through 

 the hole at the small upper end of the net funnel. Some pots have a funnel in 

 each end, while others have an inner compartment reached only through a sec- 

 ond funnel. 



The type commonly used in Maine has a flat bottom and is semicylindrical in 

 form, being about 4 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 18 inches high. These traps are 

 constructed of ordinary spruce or pine house laths, nailed lengthwise to a hard- 

 wood framework. Each end consists of a funnel-shaped coarse meshed net, the 

 larger end of which is the same diameter as the framework of the pot. The smaller 

 and inner end is about 6 inches in diameter and is held open by means of a 

 wire ring or wooden hoop. These funnel-shaped nets are constructed so that when 

 they are in place they lead obliquely upward into the pot. The inner ends are held 

 in position by 1 or 2 cords extending to the center frame. The funnels are about 

 a foot deep and, therefore, extend about half way to the center of the pot. The 

 captured lobsters are removed through a door at the top of the pot. The door 



