Here you see the Fishing Vessel “Dream On’” and one of her crew hauling some of her lobster-fishing gear ashore in Naskeag Harbor last week.
As I sit here, I can’t think of a line of work that has more colorful and oddly-shaped gear than the lobstermen’s (a term that includes women here).
The traps usually are yellow or some other bright color and they’re complex rectangles with circular and rectangular innards. Mesh bait bags in the traps usually are orange or another bright color. The bullet-shaped buoys are bright color combinations that are unique to the fisherman. The fishermen often wear bright yellow or orange waterproof fishing pants. The idea, apparently, is to make everything noticeable in the water (including a fisherman that has gone overboard).
As for the oddly-shaped lobsters that the fishermen catch, here’s what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says: “Lobsters come in just about every color but red. They can be blue, light yellow, greenish-brown, grey, dusty orange, some calico, and some with spots. However, they all turn red when they hit hot water.”
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on September 10, 2024.)