The Lobster Fishery of Maine Part 4

Weight Length in pounds.

------ --------- 9 inches 1.16 l0 inches 1.50 10-1/2 inches 1.75 11 inches 2 12 inches 2.50 13 inches 2.75 15 inches 4.25

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF LOBSTERS.

The nutritive value of a fishery product is of considerable interest to the consumer. Some years ago, Prof. W. O. At.w.a.ter, of Middletown, Connecticut, made a series of careful a.n.a.lyses of the composition of the flesh of three lobsters from the coasts of Maine and Ma.s.sachusetts, and the figures given below represent the results:

Per cent.

Proportions of edible portion and sh.e.l.l:

Total edible portion 39.77 Sh.e.l.l 57.47 Loss in cleaning 2.76

Proportions of water and dry substance in edible portion:

Water 82.73 Dry substance 17.27

Chemical a.n.a.lysis calculated on dry substance:

Nitrogen 12.54 Alb.u.minoids (nitrogen x 6.25) 78.37 Fat 11.43 Crude ash 10.06 Phosphorus (calculated as P2 O6) 2.24 Sulfur (calculated as SO3) 2.47 Chlorine 3.46

Chemical a.n.a.lysis calculated on fresh substance in flesh:

Water 82.73 Nitrogen 2.17 Alb.u.minoids (nitrogen x 6.25) 13.57 Fat 1.97 Crude ash 1.74 Phosphorus (calculated as P2 06) .39 Sulphur (calculated as SO3) .43 Chlorine .59

Nutritive value of flesh of lobsters compared with beef as a standard and reckoned at 100. 61.97

ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF THE LOBSTER.

The rapid increase in the catch of this crustacean during the past ten years has drawn upon it the most earnest attention of all interested in the preservation of this valuable fishery. If the "berried" or female lobster bearing eggs, and the young and immature, were let alone by the fishermen there would be no necessity for a resort to artificial lobster culture. Maine has a most stringent law forbidding the taking and selling of "berried" lobsters, and of any lobster under 10-1/2 inches in length, but this law is evaded by numerous fishermen whenever possible. An idea of the extent to which short lobsters are marketed in the State may be gathered from the statement of Mr. A. R.

Nickerson, commissioner of sea and sh.o.r.e fisheries for the State, that in 1899 over 50,000 short lobsters were seized and liberated by the State wardens. As these wardens only discover a small proportion of the short lobsters handled by the fishermen and dealers it is easy to see what a terrible drain this is on the future hope of the fishery--the young and immature. Large numbers of "berried" lobsters are also captured, the eggs brushed off, and the lobsters sold as ordinary female lobsters.

The Report of the U. S. Fish Commission for 1897, on pages 235 and 236, contains the following account of the artificial propagation of lobsters:

Prior to 1885 experiments had been conducted at various points looking to the artificial propagation of the lobster. The only practical attempts of this nature previous to those made by the Fish Commission were by means of "parking," that is, holding in large naturally inclosed basins lobsters that had been injured, soft-sh.e.l.led ones, and those below marketable size. Occasionally females with sp.a.w.n were placed in the same inclosures. One of these parks was established in Ma.s.sachusetts in 1872, but was afterwards abandoned; another was established on the coast of Maine about 1875. It was soon demonstrated, however, that the results from inclosures of this character, so far as the rearing of the lobsters from the young were concerned, would not be sufficient to materially affect the general supply. The completion of the new marine laboratory and hatchery at Woods Hole in 1885, with its complete system of salt-water circulation, permitted the commencement of experiments in artificial hatching on a large scale which had not been practicable theretofore, although small quant.i.ties of lobster eggs, as well as those of other crustaceans, had been successfully hatched. In 1886 the experiments had progressed so successfully that several million eggs were collected and hatched at Woods Hole, the fry being deposited in Vineyard Sound and adjacent waters. From 1887 to 1890, inclusive, the number of eggs collected was 17,821,000.

During the above years the average production of fry was about 54 per cent. By the use of more improved apparatus the average was brought up to 90 per cent in 1897, when the collections amounted to 150,000,000 eggs, of which 135,000,000 were hatched. As the commissioner of sea and sh.o.r.e fisheries of Maine objected to the taking of female lobsters in that State and the planting of part, at least, of the resulting fry in other waters, an arrangement was made in 1898 by which all female lobsters and the fry hatched out from the eggs secured from these would be returned to the State waters. Under this arrangement 2,365 "berried" lobsters were bought from the Maine fishermen by the U. S. Fish Commission. From these 25,207,000 eggs were taken and 22,875,000 fry were hatched. Of these, 21,500,000 were deposited in Maine waters at various points. In 1899, 36,925,000 fry were planted in Maine waters by the Commission. In order that the female lobsters may be secured the authorities of Maine permit the fishermen to catch and sell "berried" lobsters to the Commission.

The collection of eggs in Maine is usually made by the Commission during the months of April, May, June, and to about the middle of July, depending upon the supply to be had. During the season of 1899 a small steam smack was chartered for collecting the lobsters, starting from Gloucester, where the hatching of Maine lobster eggs is now carried on, and running to Eastport, returning over the same route.

The Fish Commission schooner _Grampus_ was also used in this work.

The lobsters are purchased from fishermen, who receive the market price for ordinary lobsters, and as they are not allowed to sell these lobsters legally for consumption the sale to the Commission materially increases their financial returns.

In 1883 a radical advance along the line of artificial propagation was made, so far as the legislature was concerned, when the act incorporating the Samoset Island a.s.sociation, of Boothbay, was pa.s.sed.

Section 4 of the charter reads as follows:

In order to secure a sufficient and regular supply of lobsters for domestic consumption on any land or islands under the control of said corporation, it may increase the number of lobsters within said limits by artificial propagation, or other appropriate acts and methods, under the direction of the fishery commission, and shall not be interfered with by other parties, but be protected therein, as said fishery commission may determine, and shall have the right, by its agents and tenants, to take and catch lobsters within 300 yards of the low-water line of the islands and lands owned or leased by said corporation, during each and every month, for domestic use.

In 1887 the legislature pa.s.sed an act granting R. T. Carver the sole right to propagate lobsters in Carver's pond, Vinalhaven. Mr. Carver's experiment was a failure, as he says the mud in the pond was so filthy that nearly all the sp.a.w.n was killed.

LARGE AND PECULIAR LOBSTERS.

Since the inception of the fishery, stories of the capture of lobsters weighing 30, 40, and even 50 pounds have been common, but have rarely been well authenticated. Especially is this the case in the early years of the fishery. It is probable that in the transmission of the stories from person to person the lobsters gained rather than lost in size. Among the most authentic cases in Maine are the following:

On May 6, 1891, a male lobster weighing slightly over 23 pounds was taken in Pen.o.bscot Bay, southeast of Moose Point, in line with Brigadier Island, in about 3-1/2 fathoms of water, by Mr. John Condon.

The lobster had tried to back into the trap, but after getting his tail through the funnel he was unable to get either in or out and was thus captured.

According to Mr. F. W. Collins, a dealer of Rockland, in August, 1891, a lobster weighing 18-1/2 pounds was taken at Blue Hill Falls, in upper Blue Hill Bay, while in November, 1892, a female lobster weighing 18 pounds was taken at Green Island.

In January, 1893, Mr. N. F. Trefethen, of Portland, received a lobster from Vinal Haven which weighed 18 pounds.

According to R. F. Crie & Sons, of Criehaven, on September 7,1898, a male lobster weighing 25 pounds and measuring 25 inches from the end of the nose to the tip of tail, and 45 inches including the claws, was caught on a hake trawl by Peter Mitch.e.l.l, a fisherman. The trawl was set about 2 miles southeast from Matinicus Rock Light Station in 60 fathoms of water.

In August, 1899, the writer saw a live male lobster at Peak Island which measured 44 inches in length and weighed 25 pounds, according to the statement of the owner. It had been caught near Monhegan Island, and the owner was carrying it from town to town in a small car, which he had built for it, and charging a small fee to look at it.

In April, 1874, a female lobster weighing about 2 pounds was caught off Hurricane Island. Her color was a rich indigo along the middle of the upper part of the body, shading off into a brighter and clearer tint on the sides and extremities. The upper surface of the large claws was blue and purple, faintly mottled with darker shades, while underneath was a delicate cream tint. The under parts of the body tended also to melt into a light cream color, and this was also true of the spines and tubercles of the sh.e.l.l and appendages.

In 1893 a Peak Island fisherman caught a lobster about 11 inches in length whose back was of an indigo blue, and which toward the extremities and under parts was shaded off into a pure white. The under part of the claw was also of a pure white.

Mr. Lewis McDonald, of Portland, has a pure white lobster preserved in alcohol. It was caught in 1887.

A lobster was caught at Beal Island, near West Jonesport, which was about 6 or 7 inches in length and almost jet black.

A few bright-red lobsters, looking as though they had been boiled, have also been taken along the coast at various times.

A lobster was caught near Long Island, Cas...o...b..y, about the year 1886, in which half of the body was light-yellow up to the middle line of the back, while the other half was bright-red. There were no spots on the sh.e.l.l.

In September, 1898, Mr. R. T. Carver, of Vinal Haven, had in his possession a female lobster, about 11 inches long, of a bright-red color all over, except the forward half of the right side of the carapace and the feeler on this side, which were of the usual color.

LAWS REGULATING THE FISHERY.

In 1897 the legislature revised and consolidated the laws relating to the sea and sh.o.r.e fisheries of Maine, and below are given the sections relating to the lobster fishery adopted that year, together with the amendments to the act adopted in 1899, which are incorporated herewith:

SEC. 39. It is unlawful to catch, buy or sell, or expose for sale, or possess for any purpose, any lobsters less than 10-1/2 inches in length, alive or dead, cooked or uncooked, measured in manner as follows: Taking the length of the back of the lobster, measured from the bone of the nose to the end of the bone of the middle of the flipper of the tail, the length to be taken in a gauge with a cleat upon each end of the same, measuring 10-1/2 inches between said cleats, with the lobster laid upon its back and extended upon its back upon the gauge, without stretching or pulling, to the end of the bone of the middle flipper of the tail, its natural length, and any lobster shorter than the prescribed length when caught, shall be liberated alive at the risk and cost of the parties taking them, under a penalty of $1 for each lobster so caught, bought, sold, exposed for sale, or in the possession not so liberated. The possession of mutilated, uncooked lobsters shall be prima facie evidence that they are not of the required length.