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 carried on generally in the open sea.
In 1878 a law was passed limiting the canning season to the period between April 1 and August 1. This season was frequently changed by subsequent enactments, 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 closed 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 fleet 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 7½ 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 2½ 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: