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Sunday, July 6, 2003
Great Lobster Bust shook Maine's coastline in 1930s
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||
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Also on this page: UNDER PRESSURE: Maine's Lobster Catch | |||||
Lobsters have been closely associated with the Maine coast since long before it was the "Maine" coast. But the relationship wasn't always so lucrative for coastal communities, which endured a painful lobster bust in the 1930s. And it wasn't always so dignified for lobsters, which were considered fish bait and fertilizer long before they became a symbol of the state. Until the early 1800s, lobster was valued mostly for being so easy to find and for attracting fish such as cod that had real value. American Indians and European settlers considered lobsters a cheap meal, easy to find in shallow coves. And they couldn't be marketed away from the coast because, unlike cod and other fish, lobsters decay as soon as they die and their meat cannot be easily preserved by salting or drying. In Colonial times, lobsters were served to prisoners and indentured servants. They also were spread on farm fields to fertilize crops. The lobster's fortunes, and Maine's, began changing around 1820, when the commercial lobster industry was born. A few maritime entrepreneurs started sailing the coast in wooden boats with tanks of circulating seawater in their hulls to keep lobsters alive until they reached markets in Boston and New York City. Then, in the late 1830s, entrepreneurs figured out how to preserve lobster meat by canning it. A dozen quarts of lobster meat went for $4.50. By 1880, 23 lobster canneries employed 800 Mainers. The creation of tanks and pounds had also expanded the live market. Lobstermen supplied the canneries and pounds by setting wooden traps on the ocean floor and tending them in wooden sloops. As people around the country got a taste, Maine lobster began to develop its familiar mystique. But coastal Maine and its famous crustacean had a rocky relationship in the 1920s and 1930s. Scientists had warned for decades that lobster catches would crash because of the canning industry, which bought up smaller and smaller lobsters. The Great Lobster Bust came after the canning industry had collapsed, although the role overfishing played is still debated. It's clear that a dramatic decline in demand during the Great Depression also played a role. Maine's catch fell from 20 million pounds in 1910 to 8 million in 1930. Hundreds of lobstermen were forced out of the business, straining the economies of coastal communities. The lobster bust led to some of the conservation measures that are credited with building and sustaining the modern industry, including size limits. Catches rebounded after World War II, and remained relatively stable at about 20 million pounds - until the current boom began around 1990. Staff Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 791-6324 or at:
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