The Lobster Fishery of Maine

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The Lobster Fishery of Maine

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Title: The Lobster Fishery of Maine Bulletin of the United States Fish
Commission, Vol. 19, Pages 241-265, 1899
Author: John N. Cobb

Release Date: January 7, 2006 [eBook #17475]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE
LOBSTER FISHERY OF MAINE***
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THE LOBSTER FISHERY OF MAINE.
by
JOHN N. COBB, Agent of the United States Fish Commission.
Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, Vol. 19, Pages 241-265,
1899

[Illustration: The sailing smack Bar Bel of Rockland]
For some years past the condition of the lobster fishery of New
England has excited the earnest attention of all interested in the
preservation of one of the most valuable crustaceans of our country. In
the State of Maine, particularly, where the industry is of the first
importance, the steady decline from year to year has caused the gravest
fears, and incessant efforts have been made by the United States Fish
Commission, in conjunction with the State Fish Commission of Maine,
to overcome this decline. This paper presents the results of an
investigation by the writer in 1899. All statistics, when not otherwise
stated, are for the calendar year 1898.
I am indebted to so many dealers, fishermen, and others for information
given and courtesies extended that it is impossible to mention them by
name; and I now extend to all my most sincere thanks for their many
kindnesses.
[Illustration: The first steam smack to carry lobsters in a well]

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE LOBSTER.
Although the lobster has been of great value to the New England States
and the British Provinces as a food commodity, but little was known of
its life-history and habits until within the last few years. To this
ignorance has been due quite largely peculiar (and in some instances
useless) laws enacted by some States. The gradual enlightenment of the
public on this subject has borne good fruit, however, and most of the
present State laws are founded on substantial facts instead of theories.
Prof. Francis H. Herrick has been one of the most prominent of the
investigators, and his summary of the present knowledge on this
subject is quoted below from the Fish Commission Bulletin for 1897:
(1) The fishery is declining, and this decline is due to the persistence
with which it has been conducted during the last twenty-five years.
There is no evidence that the animal is being driven to the wall by any
new or unusual disturbance of the forces of nature.
(2) The lobster is migratory only to the extent of moving to and from
the shore, and is, therefore, practically a sedentary animal. Its
movements are governed chiefly by the abundance of food and the
temperature of the water.
(3) The female may be impregnated or provided with a supply of sperm
for future use by the male at any time, and the sperm, which is
deposited in an external pouch or sperm receptacle, has remarkable
vitality. Copulation occurs commonly in spring, and the eggs are
fertilized outside the body.
(4) Female lobsters become sexually mature when from 8 to 12 inches
long. The majority of all lobsters 10-1/2 inches long are mature. It is
rare to find a female less than 8 inches long which has spawned or one
over 12 inches in length which has never borne eggs.
(5) The spawning interval is a biennial one, two years elapsing between
each period of egg-laying.

(6) The spawning period for the majority of lobsters is July and August.
A few lay eggs at other seasons of the year--in the fall, winter, and
probably in the spring.
(7) The period of spawning lasts about six weeks, and fluctuates
slightly from year to year. The individual variation in the time of
extrusion of ova is explained by the long period during which the eggs
attain the limits of growth. Anything which affects the vital condition
of the female during this period of two years may affect the time of
spawning.
(8) The spawning period in the middle and eastern districts of Maine is