Maine lobster traps hibernate in plain sight during the winter, often clustered cubistically in a fisherman’s snowy yard.
When submerged in summer, the traps attract the night-strolling lobsters by the smell of their bait, which preferably is salted herring. Lobsters smell it with their antennae and enter an open funnel into the trap’s “kitchen,” where that raunchy dinner is waiting.
The funnel discourages the pricey prey from turning or backing out. When the lobster moves forward, it must go through another funneled opening into the larger “parlor,” where it usually is trapped, unless it can escape through one of the exits for small creatures. By regulation, lobster traps also must have an escape hatch with a biodegradable door, which will dissolve if the trap becomes lost at sea.
Lobster traps are notoriously inefficient; it’s been estimated that only 1 in 20 trap-visiting lobsters is caught. On the other hand, this built-in inefficiency helps to maintain lobster sustainability. (Brooklin, Maine)