Lobster traps mostly hibernate in herds around here, although there still are the occasional loners who have yet to find their way home.
Under Maine law, a licensed commercial lobsterman (male or female) may run as many as 800 traps (or “pots”) at a time, although running that many traps apparently would be unusual. Given that each trap reportedly costs about $100.00, you can see that this gear can be a significant investment for a seasonal family business.
Today’s plastic-coated wire traps are bigger and more complicated than those quaint wooden ones painted by Winslow Homer. Among other things, they come equipped with open vents for the lobsters to escape if the buoy line to the trap is broken by a whale or other cause and the trap becomes inaccessible. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on December 21 [many traps] and 19 [2 traps], 2021.)