Life on the Water: An Interview with a Maine Lobsterman

Question: Captain Sarah, thank you for talking with us today. To start off, can you explain how modern lobster traps are designed?

Captain Sarah: Thanks for having me! Modern lobster traps are actually clever wire cages designed to catch market-ready lobsters while letting smaller ocean creatures escape. A trap has two main compartments called the "kitchen" and the "parlor." The lobster enters the kitchen through a mesh funnel because it smells the bait inside, which is usually salted herring. When it tries to find a way out, it crawls through another small opening into the parlor.

Crucially, every trap must have an escape vent. This is a rectangular slot sized specifically so that juvenile, undersized lobsters can easily crawl right back out into the ocean. We also attach a biodegradable escape hatch made of natural cotton twine. If a trap ever breaks loose from its buoy line and gets lost on the ocean floor, that twine rots away after a few weeks, opening a door so trapped animals are not stuck forever.

Question: That is a smart design! How do the ocean tides impact your daily work as a lobsterman?

Captain Sarah: Tides control almost everything we do on the water! Along the Maine coast, we experience two high tides and two low tides every day, with sea levels rising and falling as much as ten to twelve feet. The gravitational pull of the moon creates strong tidal currents, which move huge amounts of water in and out of our bays and coastal channels.

When the tidal current is running fast, our trap buoys can get pulled underwater by the rushing water, making them very hard to spot. Strong currents also make it tricky to steer the boat safely near rocky shores. Most lobstermen prefer to haul up their traps during "slack tide"—the brief period when the tide is turning and the water is calmest. Understanding the tide clock is just as important to us as looking at a regular clock!

Question: What other kinds of ocean life do you observe while out on the Atlantic Ocean?

Captain Sarah: The ocean off the coast of Maine is bursting with life! Besides American lobsters, our traps frequently pull up Jonah crabs, green sea urchins, and colorful sea stars. We carefully release most of those creatures right back into the water. From the deck of my boat, I often see harbor seals bobbing near the surface, watching us work. During the summer months, it is not unusual to spot harbor porpoises or even massive humpback whales surfacing for air in the deeper offshore waters. The ocean is a rich, interconnected ecosystem, and lobsters are just one part of it.

Question: How do lobstermen help protect lobster populations for the future?

Captain Sarah: Conservation is essential to our way of life. Aside from using escape vents for small lobsters, we measure every lobster with a special metal gauge to ensure it is the legal size. If a lobster is too small or too large, it goes straight back into the sea. Large lobsters are important breeders. If we catch a female carrying eggs under her tail, we use a tool to snip a tiny, harmless V-shape into her tail flipper before releasing her. Other lobstermen who catch that notched lobster later know she is a proven egg-layer and must leave her in the ocean. Taking care of the ocean ensures that future generations can keep fishing.