As my first trap broke the surface this morning I saw a huge four pound lobster inside. After taking a quick look at this lobster's tail, I carefully grabbed this lobster and released it gently back into the ocean. Why would I do such a thing? The answer has everything to do with the conservation ethic that Maine lobstermen are well known for. For decades lobstermen up and down the coast of Maine have protected the broodstock of our resource by releasing pregnant female lobsters in order to sustain the fishery into the future. Before we release these lobsters we look at the second tail flipper from the left for a v-notch. If there is no notch in the tail of a pregnant lobster, we cut a small notch so that other lobstermen will know that that particular lobster is a breeder and is to be set free again and again. A quick look at the tail of this morning’s monster lobster and I could see that it was a breeder. Knowing that in the next year that one lobster alone will produce over 100,000 eggs makes it a little easier to throw back such a nice lobster.
-Captain Brendan