Maine Lobster by Ingrid
Posted: 09 Feb 2010 09:55 AM PST
Stonington, Maine, on the island of Deer Isle off the coast of Maine, near Bar Harbor looks like a peaceful, picture postcard fishing village, surrounded by an archipelago of Spruce covered, uninhabited islands. But in fact, it is the beating heart of the Maine lobster fishing industry, where over 30 million dollars worth of lobsters are landed every year. Boys (and some girls) start life dreaming of the day when their fathers will take them "out to haul", and by the time they are sixteen, they have their own traps, and sometimes their own boats, or else, go fishing alongside their fathers or grandfathers as stern men.
The season begins in the summer when the lobsters shed their old shells and grow into new ones. At this time, their shells are extremely soft, and the lobsters hide in the rocks to protect themselves from predators.This is when lobsters should be eaten in Maine,at a clambake, on a beach, or a backyard picnic or restaurant near where they were caught. They won't survive being transported, and are noticeably full of water. Even though they are not full of meat, they are deliciously sweet and tender.
The best time to eat lobster outside of Maine is in the fall and winter when the shells have hardened, and the lobster meats have filled out, but are still tender. These lobsters are called "hard shedders". They travel well, and are really a premium lobster. That's when we in Maine eat lobster at home. The French eat lobster for New Year's. They are right.if they are from Maine, are fresh caught and have not been held in lobster pounds where they tend to acquire a muddy flavor. "Pound lobsters" have rough shells which don't shine. In captivity, their antennae may have been chewed off.
Maine has strict regulations meant to protect a sustainable fishery. The smallest lobster which is a "keeper" is a chick lobster, weighing about a pound. Keeping large lobsters over about three and a half pounds is illegal. They are considered breeders. There are specific measurement requirements for the carapace, and illegal lobsters can cost a fishermen his or her license to fish.There are limits to the number of traps each fishermen can fish, and limited entry requirements. Females with eggs are thrown back into the sea, their claws v-notched to show that they were caught and thrown back. These regulations are exclusive to Maine. Go over the border into New Hampshire, and lobsters there are not subject to any such restrictions. This is part of what makes Maine lobsters unique, and especially those which come from Penobscot Bay, the waters around Stonington, where the nutrients create an exceptional micro climate which gives them a distinct flavor of their own.
It is a dangerous profession. Almost every year in Stonington, a fisherman drowns at sea. The island is an extremely close community. Every lobster which comes from here has the stamp of a fisherman's life, of his passion for what he does, and the risk he is prepared to take in order to do it, and protect it for future generations.
Written by Ingrid Bengis, our seafood supplier
Posted: 09 Feb 2010 09:55 AM PST
Stonington, Maine, on the island of Deer Isle off the coast of Maine, near Bar Harbor looks like a peaceful, picture postcard fishing village, surrounded by an archipelago of Spruce covered, uninhabited islands. But in fact, it is the beating heart of the Maine lobster fishing industry, where over 30 million dollars worth of lobsters are landed every year. Boys (and some girls) start life dreaming of the day when their fathers will take them "out to haul", and by the time they are sixteen, they have their own traps, and sometimes their own boats, or else, go fishing alongside their fathers or grandfathers as stern men.
The season begins in the summer when the lobsters shed their old shells and grow into new ones. At this time, their shells are extremely soft, and the lobsters hide in the rocks to protect themselves from predators.This is when lobsters should be eaten in Maine,at a clambake, on a beach, or a backyard picnic or restaurant near where they were caught. They won't survive being transported, and are noticeably full of water. Even though they are not full of meat, they are deliciously sweet and tender.
The best time to eat lobster outside of Maine is in the fall and winter when the shells have hardened, and the lobster meats have filled out, but are still tender. These lobsters are called "hard shedders". They travel well, and are really a premium lobster. That's when we in Maine eat lobster at home. The French eat lobster for New Year's. They are right.if they are from Maine, are fresh caught and have not been held in lobster pounds where they tend to acquire a muddy flavor. "Pound lobsters" have rough shells which don't shine. In captivity, their antennae may have been chewed off.
Maine has strict regulations meant to protect a sustainable fishery. The smallest lobster which is a "keeper" is a chick lobster, weighing about a pound. Keeping large lobsters over about three and a half pounds is illegal. They are considered breeders. There are specific measurement requirements for the carapace, and illegal lobsters can cost a fishermen his or her license to fish.There are limits to the number of traps each fishermen can fish, and limited entry requirements. Females with eggs are thrown back into the sea, their claws v-notched to show that they were caught and thrown back. These regulations are exclusive to Maine. Go over the border into New Hampshire, and lobsters there are not subject to any such restrictions. This is part of what makes Maine lobsters unique, and especially those which come from Penobscot Bay, the waters around Stonington, where the nutrients create an exceptional micro climate which gives them a distinct flavor of their own.
It is a dangerous profession. Almost every year in Stonington, a fisherman drowns at sea. The island is an extremely close community. Every lobster which comes from here has the stamp of a fisherman's life, of his passion for what he does, and the risk he is prepared to take in order to do it, and protect it for future generations.
Written by Ingrid Bengis, our seafood supplier
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Christina