National Lobster Day

MAINE LOBSTER FISHERY: PROTECTING MAINE GREATEST RESOURCE FOR GENERATIONS TO COME

See the Process

From Trap To Truck

OUR LOBSTER'S ORIGINS

Cousins Maine Lobster proudly features lobster from Maine, so that we can share the same great lobster we grew up eating in Maine, with you in your city. Maine lobster is widely recognized as the best lobster is the world.

In Maine, Lobstering is a way of life. The trade is passed down generation, to generation, supporting families, friends, and hardworking communities along the rocky coastline of Maine.

The Maine lobster fishery is upheld as one of the most well-managed wild capture fisheries in the world, it is the economic and cultural backbone of Maine's coastal and inland communities.

Cousins Maine Lobster Co-Founders, Sabin & Jim stand with their arms around a local Maine Fisherman on board his vessel.

Enjoying Maine lobster supports legions of hard-working Mainers, from lobsterman and women, to bait dealers, processors, boat mechanics, truck drivers, and many more involved in the process of bringing Maine lobster to your city.

Maine Lobster is harvested in a way that allows the species to reproduce, helping ensure that the Maine lobster we all know and love is available for future generations to enjoy.

Low Impact Gear

Responsible Oversight + Local Regulations

Mindful Practices

A Lobsters Carapace is measured to ensure it falls within the strict regulations that are in place to protect the future of the Maine Lobster Industry

Maine lobstermen measure each and every lobster that is caught in their traps to determine whether or not they can keep that lobster or if it must be thrown back.

Only lobsters that measure between 3.25 and 5 inches in carapace length (measured bottom of head to top of tail) can be kept.

This practice ensures that lobsters who have yet to breed (undersized) reach maturity, and those that are great breeders (oversized) continue to contribute to the lobster population.

A lobster that was rejected for size or breeding factors is released back into the ocean

Any female lobster bearing eggs, even if she is of legal size, is required to be thrown back and returned to the sea so that she can release those eggs.

Not only are the breeding females released, her tail will also be "notched" so that if she is ever caught after releasing her eggs, she is known to be a breeding female, and must still be thrown back, even if she is of legal size.

Depending on the time of the year, often 70-90% of the lobsters that enter a trap to have a bite of bait end up having to be thrown back. That's a lot of free lunches!

Marine Biologist and Maine Lobsterman, Curt, shares some

Fun Maine Lobster Facts

What does the "V notch" in a lobster tail mean?

"AS you can see right here, this is a Legal Sized Lobster, but she has a "V-Notch" in that Tail Flipper right there, that singifies that she is a breeder, shes been caught before with Eggs. She has that notch, which now means she is illegal to keep, she goes back into the ocean to do what she does best, Another way we sustain our fishery for the future

How many traps can a lobster fisherman have?

So the only way you can legally harvest a lobster here in Maine, is with A Lobster Trap, the Maximum number of traps any harvester can have is 800. Another way we conserve our resource for the future

What are the benefits of a trap-only fishery?

Thats the Beauty of a Trap fishery like we have here in Maine, Everything that comes up in a Lobster Trap, is alive, anything that isnt a legal size lobster, goes back into the ocean. Thats why im really proud that we have a trap only fishery. Alright, we are sending her back

What is the meaning of lobster buoy colors?

Every Lobsterman along the coast of Maine has thier own Bouy colors to identify where thier traps are and whos traps are whos, theres a science to determining which colors are yours, mine were decided when I was a kid, these two colors here were the 2 paint cans in my parents garage

How many babies does a female lobster release?

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Lobster

This photograph shows the two lobsters on a tray freshly steamed alongside a small pot of melted butter, Lemon wedges, claw crackers and picks to remove all of the delicious Maine lobster meat

This photograph shows two live lobsters Banded, just how you will receive them when you order from cousins Maine lobster

This image shows a Bowl, plate and wooden cutting board, teeming full of mouthwatering Claw and knuckle meat

This photo shows a bowl full of Maine lobster Meat alongside a blue and white patterned dish towel resting under a set of shell crackers

This photograph shows our Cousins Maine Lobster Toolkit laid out on a dining table beside some freshly steamed lobsters ready to be enjoyed! The kit includes How-to-eat a Lobster Placemats, Two Lobster Claw Cracker, a pair of Lobster Bibs, a Packet of Maine Sea Salt (to season pot when cooking), and two Wet Naps for cleaning up!

This photograph Maine Lobster Mac and cheese fresh out of the oven topped with beautifully browned bread crumbs and beside the baking dish there are two dishes with mouthwatering servings of mac and cheese ready to be devoured

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