Lobster traps, often called lobster pots, are an iconic piece of fishing gear designed to passively capture live lobsters on the ocean floor. They lure a lobster into a contained space with bait and then prevent its escape until the trap is hauled up. The design exploits the lobster’s natural foraging behavior, creating a one-way system. These traps must be robust enough to withstand the marine environment while also being easy for the fisher to manage and retrieve.
The Essential Structure and Materials
The modern lobster trap is typically a rectangular structure built for stability and stacking. Contemporary traps utilize plastic-coated wire mesh over a rigid frame, a material choice that resists corrosion and is lighter to handle when dry, yet heavy enough to remain stable underwater. The frame is often equipped with runners to protect the lobsters’ appendages from being crushed against the boat deck during hauling.
The trap’s stability on the seabed is maintained by ballast secured inside the frame. This added weight is necessary because the wire mesh construction is significantly lighter in the water than older wooden traps, ensuring the trap does not shift with currents or tides. A long line, or warp, connects the submerged trap to a brightly colored buoy floating on the surface, which marks the trap’s location and allows the fisher to retrieve it.
The One-Way Entrance Mechanism
The first section of the trap is often called the “kitchen,” where the bait—typically salted fish like herring—is secured in a mesh bag. Lobsters are nocturnal scavengers drawn to the scent, approaching the trap along the ocean floor.
Entry into the kitchen is facilitated by a funnel-shaped opening, known as the “head.” This funnel is wide on the exterior but tapers severely to a small opening on the inside. The lobster can easily push past the netting to reach the bait. The funnel’s steep, often upward-sloping sides make it challenging for the lobster to climb out, effectively creating a one-way barrier.
Retention Features and Conservation Design
After consuming the bait, the lobster generally moves into the second chamber, known as the “parlor” or “bedroom,” through another internal funnel. This secondary chamber acts as the main holding area, further reducing the chances of escape before the trap is retrieved.
To promote sustainability, modern traps include features that ensure only legal-sized lobsters are retained. The most common are rigid, fixed-size openings called escape vents or cull rings. These openings are sized precisely to allow smaller, undersized lobsters to crawl out.
A second mandatory conservation feature is the biodegradable panel, often called a “ghost panel.” This panel is designed to degrade over a period of months if the trap is lost. Once the panel dissolves, it creates a large opening that allows all trapped lobsters to escape, preventing the lost gear from continuing to fish indefinitely.