Lobster Pot washed ashore on a Moray Beach at Hopeman Scotland
A lobster trap (British English: lobster pot) is an effective way for fishermen to catch many lobsters at once when lobster fishing. The trap usually consists of a wooden frame surrounded by a rope mesh. A piece of bait, often fish, is placed inside the trap. The entrances to the traps are designed to be one-way entrances only. The traps are checked every other day by the fisherman and rebaited if necessary. One study indicated that lobster traps are very inefficient and that almost all lobsters walk right out of them. [1] Yet, this inefficiency also allows younger lobsters to escape and breed, thus reducing the possibility of overfishing. An 1899 report by the United States Fish Commission on the Lobster Fishery Of Maine, described the local "lath pots" used by Maine lobster fishers as: The framework of the bottom consists of three strips of wood, either hemlock, spruce, or pine (the first mentioned being the most durable), a little longer than the width of the pot, about 2¾ inches wide and 1 inch thick. In the ends of each of the outer strips a hole is bored to receive the ends of a small branch of pliable wood, which is bent into a regular semicircular curve. These hoops are made of branches of spruce or hemlock, or of hardwood saplings, such as maple, birch, or ash, generally retaining the bark. Three of these similar frames, straight below and curved above, constitute the framework of each pot, one to stand at each end and one in the center. The narrow strips of wood, generally ordinary house laths of spruce or pine, which form the covering, are nailed lengthwise to them, with interspaces between about equal to the width of the lathe. On the bottom the laths are sometimes nailed on the outside and sometimes on the inside of the cross pieces. The door is formed by three or four of the laths running the entire length near the top. The door is hinged on by means of small leather strips, and is fastened by a single wooden button in the center.
Size: 5620px × 3733px
Location: Hopeman Beach Morayshire Grampian Region Scotland UK United Kingdom
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: cage, construction, deep, design, fishing, man, positioning, sands, sea, seabed, tide, traditional, trap, water, waves
