American Fisheries Society 195 



iiu-hes, and Itelow nine inches, or between eiglit and nine, there 

 were but two lobsters. Between nine and ten inches, there were 

 IIT eo-o--bearino- lobsters; between ten and eleven inches, 101 T; 

 b('twee]i eleven and twelve inches, 174!); l)etween twelve and 

 thirteen inches, 1!»()-^ ; lietween thirten and fourteen inches, 89() ; 

 lietween fourteen and fifteen inches, 208; between fifteen and 

 sixteen inches, ~y2 : Ijetween sixteen and seventeen inches, 39. 



Xow. to indicate the re])roductive ca])acit3- of these indi- 

 vi(Uia]s, or rather tlie number of individuals represented in this, 

 we find tliat tlu' ,nreat Jieight^ — the greatest number of lobsters 

 wliicli we find, are those between eleven and thirteen indies, or 

 between twelvt' and thirteen inches is the nuiximum rejirtxhictive 

 ca])acity. A\'e lind more lohstei's bearing eggs between twelve 

 and thirteen inches than at any other point. After that tlie 

 decline, under present conditions, is rather rapid. There is, 

 howevei-. ]iossil)ly some reason to believe that before we caught 

 sucli a ti-emendous nnniber of the large lol)sters, this curve was 

 somewhat ditferent from this, and there was prohably, a more 

 steady decline, as indicated l)y results on certain other animals. 

 The reproductive capacity slnndd not (\va]^ down so rapidly. 



There is no doubt that tlie lobster lives to a green old age. 

 We do not know exactly how ohl that is, but the steam trawler, 

 or auto-tj'awler is catching a very considerable number of lob- 

 sters during the past two years, whicli are so hirge that they can- 

 not get into the present pots. Tlu' ])ots generally have a funnel 

 of five or six inches, and these lohsters have a diameter of seven 

 to eight or even more inches, and those lobsters could not get 

 into tlie pot; and it is only within tlie past (Uie or two years that 

 we haw found them in great lunnbers : they were occasionally 

 caught on trawlers, but they are recently being caught in large 

 numl)ers. 



President: How much do they run in ]iounds? 



^Jr. Field: They run fwenty-fhi'ee iiounds. Under our 

 present laws they catch the lobsters either al)ove eight inches in 

 Xova Scotia, or a]n)\v ]iine inches in Xew Y(n-k and JJliode 

 Island, and through other ])arts of Xova Scotia and at present 

 about nine inches in ^lassaclrusetts, and above ten inches in all 

 the other states. Xow. look for a moment and see what the 



