Learning About Sustainable Lobster Fishing
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 7:04AM 
During our day-long visit to the Common Ground Country Fair, the most exciting moment for me was meeting Ty Babb, a charming lobster fisherman from Tenants Harbor on the coast of Maine. I approached Ty's "Evening Star Lobster" booth because the sign said "sustainable fishing," and I really wanted to learn more about what that meant. Ty immediately got his lobster trap out and began explaining his strategy for catching lobsters in a way that maintains a healthy balance of the lobster population in the ocean.
Ty showed us the special escape holes on his trap that ensures he only catches lobsters of a certain size. He told us that he feeds lobsters every day so he knows where to find them and he's extremely careful to put large females back into the ocean (so they can make many more lobsters!) I was really impressed by Ty's extensive knowledge of lobster habits, biology, and especially the way he handled two grown lobsters with his bare hands. From the way that he seemed to live, breathe and eat lobster, it's easy for me to imagine why sustainable fishing would be so important to him.
As his impromtu lecture continued, a sizable crowd formed around us, and Ty eventually let me hold the lobsters and taught me how to tell the difference between a male and female. Then he brought out two steaming lobsters for everyone to try - they were delicious.
We plan to post a video of our chat with Ty soon, so stay tuned!
-Dorothee
All photos in this post are by (the amazing) Zack Bowen. Click on the thumbnails to enlarge.
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Reader Comments (2)
That was a really, really fabulous day. Ty was a wonderful presenter. Dorothee approached him and asked something like, "Will you please explain your sign?" and he came out and gave an half-hour long presentation that attracted a relatively substantial crowd. He was great for all that he shared with us and everybody around, and the cooked lobsters at the end were very much appreciated.
So true - we're glad you saw that sign Alex and pointed it out to us!