Click to Enlarge Close to 40,000 Stage IV lobsters were released during the summer of 2006 at the nine Zone C sites circled above.

The start-up season was launched in June of 2006 and by season’s end (early October) nearly 40,000 stage IV lobsters were released in nine Zone C locations covering eight of the nine districts within Zone C. 

 

To identify these release sites, hatchery manager Ted Ames met with Zone C lobstermen and discussed areas where lobsters have recently

To determine the release sites, Hatchery Director Ted Ames met with district lobstermen. Pictured, from left, Paul Venno, David Tarr and Ted Ames.

become depleted, and the locations of nearby juvenile habitats. Juvenile lobsters tend to prefer “cobble” bottom, with rocks the size of grapefruits and basketballs. Lobstermen marked relevant areas on charts. The results of these conversations created the strategy for where to restock.  The technique of combining hard science with fishermen’s knowledge is one that Ames pioneered in earlier research into codfish stocks, for which he was recognized with a 2005 MacArthur Fellowship.

Hatchery Director Ted Ames and biologist Erin Pulster release lobsters along Flake Island, Northwest of Isle au Haut. Lobsters are sent straight to the ocean bottom through a weighted hose attached to a cooler, seen at center.

When the lobsters are ready to be released, they are carefully transferred from their tanks into a cooler, where they are carefully packed on ice. A lobster boat, often run by a volunteer fisherman, takes the juveniles to a carefully selected site, where they are released directly onto the bottom through a 30-foot weighted hose.