Patent ID: 8230814

Claim:
A mechanized collector for juvenile lobsters, comprising: a vessel; a longline support system capable of supporting and suspending a longline having a plurality of juvenile lobster collectors above a deck of the vessel; a shaker assembly positioned proximate to the longline support system to engage at least one of the plurality of juvenile lobster collectors suspended above the deck of the vessel and attached to the longline; wherein the longline support system is formed from a front sheave assembly positioned forward on the vessel relative to the shaker assembly, an adjustable sheave tree assembly positioned above the shaker assembly, and a hauler assembly positioned aft of the shaker assembly; wherein the adjustable sheave tree assembly is formed from a support frame having a forward sheave and an aft sheave that are generally aligned, and a sheave tree bridle guide rail attached to the support frame and extending laterally from the support frame past a longitudinal axis of the longline support system to deflect the juvenile lobster collectors out of the longitudinal axis of the longline support system so as to prevent fouling of juvenile lobster collector bridles with the forward and aft sheaves; wherein the support frame is adjustably coupled to the shaker assembly such that the distance of the forward and aft shaves from the deck of the vessel may be varied.