It may come as something of a surprise but lobster catching is an artisanal occupation that requires the hand manufacture of lobster pots and a lot of hard work on land before ever the boat puts to sea.
To be a commercial lobster fisherman you have to first hand build your pots (after you get your permits and licenses and stuff).
In the winter you'll see groups of wizened men, many of them Cubans, clustered around work benches wielding hammers and tacks putting together little strips of two inch pieces of wood.
Commercially built pots, often purchased by recreational trappers are made of plastic but even they need work. Wayne made some to go crabbing as described here: http://zuzuandtootie.blogspot.com/2010/11/crab-traps.html 
To be a commercial lobster fisherman you have to first hand build your pots (after you get your permits and licenses and stuff).In the winter you'll see groups of wizened men, many of them Cubans, clustered around work benches wielding hammers and tacks putting together little strips of two inch pieces of wood.Commercially built pots, often purchased by recreational trappers are made of plastic but even they need work. Wayne made some to go crabbing as described here: http://zuzuandtootie.blogspot.com/2010/11/crab-traps.html All over the place you'll see piles of these pots stacked and waiting for lobster season, from August to March.
In the Keys, commercial fishing is like farming elsewhere, seasonal, demanding and hard work but for which there is no substitute for people who do this line of work.
1 comment:
Crawfish, crawfish.....
Don't confuse....
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