How To Catch A Lobster In Down East Maine: About The Book

My grandfather, Glenn Farris.  Photo courtesy of Delia Farris.

I've now had time to set up a website (well, technically a blog) which provides some further details about my new book, How To Catch A Lobster In Down East Maine.  The website is still very much a work in progress but, when finished, it will add more depth and context to the book.  One section of the site provides a summary of each chapter so people can get a better sense of the contents of the book.  I have included this summary below as well.

How To Catch A Lobster In Down East Maine: Chapter by chapter summary

Introduction

An overview of Christina’s lobster fishing heritage as well as the story of the unique fishing villages and fishermen of Down East Maine.

A Brief History of Lobster Fishing in Maine

The story of how lobster has transformed from poverty food to a symbol of fine dining over the last few centuries.

Lobster-Fishing Lingo

Like people in other specialist fields of work, lobster fishermen use unique jargon when speaking about their profession. This chapter details the most common lingo leveraged by lobster fishermen. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Lobster Fishing

Lobster fishermen get asked a lot of questions. People “from away” are quite curious about the process of catching lobsters and what happens during a day out at sea. This chapter covers the five questions you should never ask a lobster fisherman, the silliest questions lobster fishermen have ever been asked and the answers to other lobster fishing FAQs.

The Amazing American Lobster

While a modern-day delicacy, the American lobster is little more than a bug.  Yet this sea bug is remarkably robust and has many surprising features, such as the ability to regenerate most of its appendages and outlive most humans.  This chapter details some of the most interesting, often amazing facts of the American lobster. 

How to Catch a Lobster: Tricks and Tools of the Trade

This chapter explains how lobster traps work and the other essential tools of catching lobster in Maine. It also provides an extensive overview of Maine lobster boats, including how much an average lobster boat costs and how fishermen name their boats. 

A Day Out on the Lobster Boat

Why do fishermen leave dock so early in the morning?  What are the weather conditions with which they must contend?  How do they find their traps? This chapter details what happens during a day on the boat, including the step-by-step process of hauling traps, the job of the sternman and why a fisherman will never tell you exactly how many lobsters he’s catching.

A Lobster Fisherman’s Job Is Never Done

As a self-employed person, a lobster fisherman’s job is never done. This chapter details the other tasks, such as boat maintenance and bait deliveries, a fisherman must contend with before he is able to kick off his boots and put up his feet.

The Strategy of Lobster Fishing

To an outsider, lobster fishing could appear to be a simple, possibly dull exercise of navigating a boat and methodically hauling trap after trap. Yet these manual tasks are performed almost automatically by lobster fishermen while they focus on the more important job of deciding where to place their traps to maximize their catch with minimal loss and expense. A vast range of factors must be considered - from the season, weather and temperature of the water to the cost of supplies, the fluctuating value of lobsters, the cycle of the tides and the movements of other fishermen.  This chapter covers the strategies lobster fishermen employ to stay ahead of the lobsters, and other fishermen, in a constantly changing environment.

The Seasons of Lobster Fishing

Why do lobster fishermen rush to get their gear out in the spring, even though the catches are depressingly low?  At what point in the summer does the lobster fishing start to pick up?  What is it like in the fall, when the catches are bountiful but the weather is foul and the days are long? What do lobster fishermen do in the winter?  This chapter takes you on the journey of the life of a lobster fisherman during the spring, summer, fall and winter months.  It also provides insight into the Maine lobster market.

The Perils of Lobster Fishing

The Gulf of Maine is the perfect, nurturing environment for Homarus americanus but unforgiving to any fisherman who is plunged into its chilly depths.  When it comes to navigating the open seas, one mistake could be your last. This chapter details the dangers faced by fishermen during their daily jobs and recounts stories from several fishermen lucky enough to be alive to tell the tale of their life-threatening misfortunes.

The Unwritten Rules of Lobster Fishing

The Maine lobster fishing industry is highly territorial and lobstermen have long lived under unofficial rules that dictate who can set their traps where. These rules are legally unenforceable but important and usually accepted. If not, Maine fishermen often resort to frontier justice, cutting lobster trap lines, ramming boats and occasionally drawing arms.  This chapter details the unwritten rules of the lobster industry, the cloak-and-dagger methods used by fishermen to protect their fishing grounds and recounts some of the most fierce (and sometimes rather funny) trap wars in recent history.

The Written Rules of Lobster Fishing

Lobstermen must balance exploiting the natural resource for personal profit with a duty to conserve lobster stocks for future generations. This chapter details the four critical conservation laws which Maine lobster fishermen support and defend.  These conservation measures, such as the V-notch program and the maximum size law, are now seen to be largely responsible for today’s booming lobster stocks.

How to Become a Lobster Fisherman

Lobster fishing delivers tremendous levels of satisfaction for people who prize their independence. Long days of manual labor, uncertainty and risk are a small price to pay for those who take pleasure from self employment and fresh sea air. Yet lobster fishing is not the easiest industry to break into.  This chapter provides advice on how to become a lobster fisherman, especially if you were not born into a lobster fishing family.

Maine Lobster Boats through the Ages

The lobster boats of today are sleek, fiberglass affairs with fresh colors and modern electronics. However, most of the last century of lobster fishing has played out with a variety of more basic boats. This chapter details how lobster boats have evolved through the ages, including how rum-running during prohibition helped revolutionize Maine lobster boat design.

It’s Not All Hard Work

The days are long and the trap hauling routine can often feel relentless.  Yet the life of a lobsterman isn’t solely hard work. Socialising is a vital part of life for Down East fishermen. This chapter tells the story of beloved Down East Maine past times like Maine lobster boat races, beach picnics and lobster crate races. 

How to Eat a Lobster

This chapter provides advice on what to look for when buying fresh, live lobster, how to handle live lobster, how to kill, cook and pick out a lobster and how to preserve lobster meat (including freezing lobster meat).

My Favorite Lobster Recipes

This chapter details both classic and contemporary lobster recipes - from how to make a lobster roll, lobster stew, lobster newburg and instructions on a traditional clam bake, to recipes for lobster macaroni and cheese, lobster ravioli, lobster potpie and lobster grilled cheese.