The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-09
LOBSTER INDUSTRY WAVES.
BIG DEMAND MIKES SUPPLY
SCANT md PRICES HIGH.

Over 500 Per Cent. I'm Twenty Years
Steady Decrease Ina the Number OF
Pounds Caught How HOLSTERS are
Caught and Shipped.
If the people along the Atlantic sea-
board continue to eat Holsters with the
increasing fondness which character
lied them for the last twenty years
this delicious crustocean will become so
rare that only the very rich will be able
to indulge their fondness for it, Since
1880 the average wholesale price per
pound for Holsters has increased over
eight pundred per cent. The number of
pounds caught has decreased largely
and despite the efforts made. legally to
protect this fishery there are evidences
that it is in danger of extinction.
The home of the lobster is in Maine.
Ever since the old Puritans came over
to New England's rock-bound coast the
lobster has been a standard article of
New England diet, At first, as the set
Elements We're all strung along the
coast, each family secured its own
supply, but as the ventursome settlers
moved inland there developed the be-
ginning of the lobster industry. Ger
tain persons began to make their living
by catching and selling Holsters and
the industry has grown until now
thousands of men are employed and
hundreds of thousands of dollars in
vested in 1t.
Owing to the formation of the coast
of Maine Holsters are to be found there
In greater abundance than in any other
place in the United States The lobs-
ter loves a rocky bottom, such as Is
found along the more easterly coast
line of Maine. There are numerous
small islands which form excellent
breeding grounds.
In the early days of the fishery 1t was
customary to fish only during the
spring and fall In the spring, as the
waters in the bay and the rivers warm
up, the Holsters come into comparative
1y shallow water, and before their num-
bers had been so greatly depleted they
could be taken frequently at low water
On dip nets, but they are now found in
the summer in depths from three to f1f-
teen fathoms in the numerous pas
sages between the islands and the
mainland and in the lower reaches of
the bays and rivers. When winter time
comes the lobster hustles out to sea at
depths of from fifteen to fifty fathons.
In the old days this used to protect
him, but not so now. He has become
SO valuable that the fishermen Keep
right after him all winter long.
HOLSTERS are caught in what the fish,
ermen call pots. A pot is frame work
made of laths 1t is usually about four
feet long, two feet wide and eighteen
the pot at each end The ends are
made of coarse Irvine and are funnel
shaped. The smaller and inner ends
measure about six inches in diameter
and are held open by means of wire
rings. These tunnels are fastened by
the larger ends to the end frames Of the
pot, with the shorter side upperlnost,
so that when they are in place they
lead obliquely upward into the, pot in
stead of horizontally. The tunnels are
about twelve inches deep and taper
rapidly, forming an inclined plane up
which the Holsters cdirnb. Inside the
pot, fastened to spear head on the
bottom, is the bait. This Is usually
halibut, herring or cod head, usually
sailed slightly. However, almost any
kind of fish will do. These pots are let
down to the bottom of the water and
are held in place by stones inside The
lobster has a very Keen scent and
smelling the bait, he proceeds to inves-
tigate. The result is that he climbs
into the funnel through the inner open
ing and drops down into the pot. Then
he is done for. and the next thing we
hear of him he is being served in some
restaurant after the theater
Other kinds of traps have been tried
but none has proved as successful as
the one just described The lobster has
q great habit of climbing all over the
pots before he sticks his nose into the
funnel Some genius conceived a trap
with a trapdoor on the top. When a
lobster scrambled over the top the
door gave way and in he fell While
this idea seemed excellent it has never
found favor with the Maine lobster
thasers.
In the warm season the pots are fire.
quently set on travis, as the Holsters
are quite thick then on the rocky bot
tom near shore. In the trawl method,
the pots are usually set about thirty
feet apart, depending on the depth of
the water, so that when one pot is in
the boat the next will be on the bottom.
In the old days the trawl system was
very much more in favor than now, be-
cause the Holsters We're more plentiful.
the pots are generally set |
singly and shifted after each catch, as |
1t has been found that better results
are thus obtained.
The pots are generally hauled once a
day, but sometimes twice a day In good |
weather. The number of pots used by
a fisherman varies greatly on the diff
ferent parts Of the coast. When condi-
lions are favorable the fisherman does
not use as many pots as when he finds !
that Holsters are scarce. The regular |
lobster fisherman has steadily increased
the number of his pots for several
years. He has found this an absolute
necessity in order to catch as many
Holsters now as he caught twenty years
ago 1t is not unusual now to find a |
fisherman handling as high as one hun
dred pots and sometimes even one hum
dred and twenty-five, when q, few years
ago twenty-five or fifty pots was a
large number
HOLSTERS are brought to the market in |
sailing or steam snacks. In the early
days of the fishery snachs from New |
,aa poytet bacop