Each lobsterman has a different color scheme. There is no governing body to issue these colors, they just know who has which colors. These buoys are attached to the trap by a long rope. A flat piece of concrete block is used as a weight to hold the trap down. They also have different territories for their traps.
Some territories have much higher yield than others.
There is much competition at times, to get and keep the best areas. Most territories are close to shore but some go out as far as 2 - 3 miles around islands and even as far as 30 miles where the water becomes shallow again due to a shoal or bank located in the Gulf of Maine. No area of Maine is without traps. Buoys can bee seen all over the ocean surface. Even the home of the former President George Bush has a territory of lobster traps and buoys that can be seen from Ocean Avenue in the picturesque town of Kennebunkport.