November 2012 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 7. Buying Lobsters on the Coast of Maine


we pretty much had the run of the place, the shore around the wharf, the company boats, around Gramʼs house and barn, etc. There was a brief merger between our dealership and another local dealer. The merger ended amicably.


As time went on the economy im- proved, men could afford more traps and bigger boats and engines, and the landings increased considerably, with some hauls as many as 300 or more pounds. 300 traps was a big gang of traps, and 300 pounds was a big haul. Many fi shermen of today are just getting started with 300 traps and a catch of 300 pounds.


I mentioned engines, above. Most lobster boats were powered by used car engines. Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Chev- rolet, Plymouth, and Dodge were some of the popular ones. Many came from one of the two big auto wreckers in Orono, either Penobscot or Silverʼs. Dad took several of his fi shermen to Orono to pick out an en- gine that had come out of a car wreck. The auto wrecker would deliver the engine to Cummings on Nortonʼs wharf in Jonesport, where it would be lowered down aboard the boat. The boat would be towed home and the engine installed. We kids enjoyed watching that process and waited anxiously to fi nd out if the engine would start. Once they got ʻergoinʼ and checked out the owner would take his boat out and try ʻer out. An exciting ritual. And, given the strong penchant for lobster boat racing in Beals - Jonesport, some other fi sherman just might be standing by to hook on and give ʻer a knurl. In those days there were several lobster buyers in the Beals – Jonesport area. Some dealers, like Dad, had their own means of transporting their lobsters and others did not. Those who had no means of transportation


had to depend on some other dealer at some level in the marketing chain coming to them to pick up their lobsters they sold. Other dealers, such as Papa and Dad transported their own lobsters and bought from other buyers and transported theirs, too. As our business grew Dad made accom- modations to be more and more responsive to the fi shermen. We made it extremely convenient for a fi sherman to tie up to un- load his lobsters, to get a lot of his lobsters plugged by us (before the days of the rubber bands - we had bands in later years), to get his fuel, to get his bait, and even tie up his skiff when he came ashore if he had his mooring in “our” cove (Barneyʼs Cove).


In the fall of the year (~ July - October) when all the lobstermen were fi shing weʼd buy from some 70 or 80 boats per day and maybe as many as 10,000 pounds of lobsters a day, Monday through Saturday. We, and most everyone else in our area, closed on Sundays to honor the Lordʼs Day. In the fall weʼd be on two prices for several weeks, paying maybe 10 cents a pound more for old shells (hard shells) than for shedders (soft shells). Of course, it would depend on the year and seasonal catch, etc., but as I recall we paid prices on the order of 35 and 45 cents/pound. Everything else was proportionately low on those days. The fi sh- ermen would usually keep their old shells separate and if so weʼd have two weighings. Let me plug in a note about plugging lobsters. Lobsters were not plugged to pro- tect humans from their claws. They were plugged (banded now) to keep them from biting each other. A broken shell can cause a lobster to bleed to death. A plug was a small slightly curved pointed wedge someone and a quarter to one and a half inches long whittled from a piece of white pine. It was


inserted securely into the membrane at the bottom of the jaw of the big crusher claw. When plugging, the claw was bent back to keep the lobster from biting you with the oth- er claw. For bigger lobsters weʼd also plug the fi ne claw. If a lobster feels threatened or hurt in either claw it can shoot that claw off instantly. They can regenerate new claws. At times we might have fi ve or six boats hove to waiting to sell, a “spurt”. In those days of very hurried buying we did not plug every lobster, thatʼs for sure. When we would be unloading lobsters at the Consolidated lobster pounds in Hancock, weʼd hear the unloading crew repeating for our benefi t,


“No trees on Beals Island!” We had two ways to buy. On days that the smack was on the mooring weʼd buy aboard of her to get a part of the next trip in the well. On days the smack was away on a trip weʼd buy on the lobster car. Weʼd have to fi nish loading the smack from the car on days we were going away.


Continued on Page 8.


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