246 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
THE FISHING SEASON. 
In the early days of the fishery it was customary to fish only during the spring 
and fall. When the canneries went into operation they usually worked during the 
spring, early summer, and fall, and as they furnished a ready market for all the 
lobsters that could be caught this came to be the principal season. At that time 
it was not thought possible to do any winter fishing, owing to the cold and stormy 
weather and the fact that the fishing had to be cai’ried on generally in the open sea. 
In 1878 a law was jiassed limiting the canning season to the period between 
April 1 and August 1. This season was frequently changed by subsequent enact- 
ments, but rarely covered a longer period than that fixed in the first law. As at 
certain places on the coast the canneries were the only market for lobsters the fishery 
would cease as soon as the canneries stopped. At other places, which were visited 
by the smacks, some of the fishermen would continue fishing after the canneries closed, 
selling to the smackmen. At various times a close season was in force, but at present 
there is no limitation as to season. The canning industry in the State practically 
ceased to exist in 1895, and since then the whole catch has had to be marketed in a live 
or boiled condition. The smack Meet had been gradually increasing as the live lobster 
trade extended, and by the time the canneries closed permanently they had extended 
their visits to every point where lobsters could be had in any number. 
At present the majority of the fishermen usually haul out their traps during July 
and August and put them in good order for the fall fishing. During the excessively 
cold portion of the winter most of the pots are taken out, but some fishing is done 
during every month of the year. 
The fishermen on Monhegan Island, about 12 miles southeast of Pemaquid Point, 
agree among themselves to put no lobster pots in the water until about the 1st of 
January. There is then no restriction on fishing until about May 15, when all pots 
are hauled out and no more fishing is done until the season begins again. During 
this season the law in regard to short lobsters is rigidly enforced by the fishermen 
themselves. Should any outsider visit this island during the close time established 
by the fishermen, and attempt to fish, he is quietly informed of the agreement and 
requested to conform to it. Should he persist in working after this warning, his pots 
are apt to mysteriously disappear. As lobsters bring a much higher price in winter 
than in summer, the Monhegan fishermen reap a rich reward, as the lobsters are very 
numerous, owing to the 7^ months close time. On the first day the fishermen hauled 
in 1900 one man secured 293, for which he received 19 cents apiece. The smallest 
number secured by anyone was 135. 
FISHING APPLIANCES. 
In most large fisheries for certain species numerous changes occur at intervals in 
the apparatus used, owing to changed conditions, etc., but in the lobster industry 
changes have been few, and at an early period the fishermen fixed upon a uniform 
apparatus, which has been in use ever since with but slight modifications, and these 
generally only temporary. 
The earliest form of apparatus used to any considerable extent was the hoop net. 
This consisted generally of a hoop or ring of about J-inch round iron, or a wooden 
hogshead hoop, from 2J to 3 feet or more in diameter. To this hoop was attached a 
net bag with a depth of 18 to 24 inches as a bottom, while two wooden half hoops 
were bent above it, crossing at right augles in the center about 12 or 15 inches above 
