Maine Lobster Fisherman Prepare for Hurricane Sandy

Storm surge along the Cutler coast.

As hurricane Sandy makes her way towards Maine, the lobster fishermen are bracing themselves.  The last time I blogged about a hurricane was way back in 2009 during Hurricane Bill. Bill let the Maine lobster fishermen off lightly. This time they may not be as lucky. While a hurricane is always bad news for those who wrestle a living from the sea, Hurricane Sandy is especially disconcerting because she will hit during the full moon.  The full moon triggers fuller tides and will make for more forceful seas and waves.  All of this could cause significant damage off and on shore.

Today I have been thinking of how the Cutler fishermen, and those up and down the Maine coast, will be busily preparing themselves for Sandy. The below excerpt from my book, How to Catch a Lobster in Down East Maine, details how lobster fishermen ready themselves for a hurricane.

"A hurricane running up the eastern seaboard in the fall is one of a lobster fisherman’s worst fears. The high winds and surging seas can really do some damage to the fishermen’s traps, boats and wharves. If the storm hits during the high tides, it’s especially distressing. Once the wind gets to sixty or seventy knots, fishermen start to worry about their boats, even in the safety of the harbor.

   To prepare for a hurricane, any lobster fishermen fishing gear in shoal water or in close to the shore will take that gear, usually fifteen- and twenty-fathom traps, and either place it in protected coves or take it right ashore. If you’ve ever walked along the shores of Maine and spied a mangled-up wire trap or a buoy stuck way up high in some ledges, it was likely the result of a trap being left too close to shore during a hurricane.

In the harbor, skiffs will be hauled out of the water and up onto floats, where they will be flipped over so as not to be swamped by the rain. The scales used to weigh lobsters will be moved off the floats and stowed in a safer area. Any extra traps, buoys and rope stored on wharves will be removed or secured so as not to be blown about. In extreme cases, when a strong hurricane strikes during a high tide, fishermen have been known to park their trucks down on the wharves to keep the strong seas from lifting off the wharves’ planks. 

 Boat moorings will also be prepared for hurricane-force winds. The boat owner will ensure his mooring line is in good shape and skin off any marine growth that could put an extra strain on the line in a surging sea. Some fishermen will also double up the lines on their moorings. If a boat breaks loose from its mooring in a hurricane, it means bad news not only to the boat owner but also to the owners of all the surrounding boats into which it can smash. In the throes of a hurricane, most fishermen will go down to the harbor every several hours through the day and night, checking to see if all the boats are okay."

To read more recent updates on the Maine lobster fishing season, click here.