The Lobster Fishery of Maine | Page 6

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 7-1/2 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 1/2-inch
round iron, or a wooden hogshead hoop, from 2-1/2 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 angles in the center about 12 or 15 inches above the
plane of the hoop. Sometimes these half hoops were replaced by short

cords. The bait was suspended from the point of crossing of the two
wooden hoops and the line for raising and lowering the pots was
attached at the same place. As there was no way of closing the mouth
of the pot after a lobster had entered, these nets had to be constantly
watched, the lobster being in the habit of retiring after he had finished
his repast. In using these the fisherman would generally go out in the
evening and at short intervals he would haul in his nets and remove
whatever lobsters they might contain. The constant attention necessary
in attending to these hoop nets led the fishermen to devise an apparatus
which would hold the lobsters after once entering and would require
only occasional visits, and "lath pots" were found to fulfill all
requirements. They acquire the name from the use of common laths in
their construction. They are usually about 4 feet in length, with a width
of about 2 feet, a height of 18 inches, and in Maine are usually of
semicylindrical form.
The following description of this apparatus is from the Fishery
Industries of the United States, sec. v, vol. 11, p. 666:
The framework of the bottom consists of three strips of wood, either
hemlock, spruce, or pine (the first mentioned being the most durable), a
little longer than the width of the pot, about 2-3/4 inches wide and 1
inch thick. In the ends of each of the outer strips a hole is bored to
receive the ends of a small branch of pliable wood, which is bent into a
regular semicircular curve. These hoops are made of branches of spruce
or hemlock, or of hardwood saplings, such as maple, birch, or ash,
generally retaining the bark. Three of these similar frames, straight
below and curved above, constitute the framework of each pot, one to
stand at each end and one in the center. The narrow strips of wood,
generally ordinary house laths of spruce or pine, which form the
covering, are nailed lengthwise to them, with interspaces between about
equal to the width of the lathe. On the bottom the laths are sometimes
nailed on the outside and sometimes on the inside of the cross pieces.
The door is formed by three or four of the laths running the entire
length near the top. The door is hinged on