Lobsters on top of lobsters

     It seems like almost everyone nowadays loves eating lobster, but did you know that this delicacy was once fed to prisoners back in the day because they were deemed a "poor man's food?" At first glance they are very unsightly, resembling large insects that happen to live in the sea. Fast forward a couple hundred years and lobsters are now a delicacy that is oftentimes 10 dollars a pound! Usually people go out to expensive restaurants to eat lobster, but I'm positive not many people can say that they can go to work and bring home huge lobsters for dinner. At the Harry McDonough Sailing Center in South Boston, we just can't stop catching lobsters every single day. Be it small or large, we always catch lobsters. Even when there is no bait in the lobster traps, lobsters still appear in the traps when we pull them up. It is almost like any staff member from Save the Harbor that works at McDonough is a certified lobster whisperer.

Lobsters!

     Yesterday on Monday when Jazeel and Kelly went out in Pleasure Bay on a motorboat to check the traps, they came back with not only one large lobster, but three others as well! On a regular day at McDonough we manage to catch three or four at most, but only one of those lobsters out the four is large enough to keep. We usually have to release the smaller lobsters because they are not keeper size. Yesterday was one of the few days where every single lobster was enormous and of keeper size. When we catch lobsters that are keeper size, someone can take them home for dinner! The lucky people were Candido and a couple of McDonough staff members. Candido took two home while the two other staff members took home a lobster each. Anyways, for future reference if you are craving lobster and have some spare time on your hands, come hang out with the Save the Harbor staff at McDonough!

More lobsters!

-Vinh Tran

Lead Harbor Explorer

Kids Concert!

On Saturday, Tom, Maxwell, and I went to the Friends of Lynn and Nahant Beach Children's Concert at Red Rock Park. It was a really fun way to spend part of my Saturday.

We had three monster-sized lobsters that we trapped in the harbor, so to get more animals for the younger kids to hold and learn about we went tide-pooling! Right at Red Rock Park we got about 20 hermit crabs, a handful or periwinkles, 2 green crabs, and seaweed aplenty.

We talked to tons of kids and their parents about the creatures we had, about the beach and the harbor, and how much fun they were having at this awesome event. There was face-painting, balloon animals, a really funny kids band called Toe Jam Puppet Band, and to top it off, it was a beautiful day.

 

The event was very well organized and everyone, including the Save the Harbor staff had a great time!


Keep on jammin,
Sej

Back to Basics

Hello again!

This week at McDonough Sailing Center we had a HUGE amount of kids hanging out with us! While that is a fantastic treat for us Save the Bay Staff, it leaves us with a lack of equipment for the masses. Today, some bright youngsters came up with their own method to catch crabs and fish when they weren't able to get a hold of a fishing rod- and it WORKED!!

It started with two boys deciding they would take it upon themselves to MacGyver a basic fishing rod using scraps of dock line, hooks, and bait! They simply tied a hook to the bottom of the line using a trusty knot they learned in sailing camp, then placed the bait on the hook. While they weren't able to cast their make-shift line out, they did a fine job just dropping the line to the bottom right next to the dock. The bay is extremely muddy and a great place for crabs to live so we are always catching Green Crabs and Spider Crabs. Today, the boys were able to catch mostly green crabs on their lines. Another group of boys then tried the same thing, only minus the hook. They simply tied a piece of a mussel to their line, and dropped that to the bottom. They found that the hook wasn't necessary because the hungry crabs simply pinch onto the bait and don't let go! It was a lot of fun to chat with them about their different methods, then to watch them try it out and succeed!

The boys with their basic fishing rods!

Using their line to catch crabs off the dock

We also caught three lobsters in the lobster trap today! While we were packing up our things to go, I called over to the few kids that were left to help me measure the lobsters to be sure we could take them home (one of our staffers wanted to use them for a touch tank at an event we will be having this weekend!) I taught them how to measure the thorax of the lobster, and instructed them that it had to be no smaller than 3 1/4" and no bigger than 5". They all helped me lay down the measuring tape and counted the inches one by one to make sure it was in the keep range. Turns out they all were, which is exciting for us, but not so exciting for the lobsters!  

me and my helpers measuring the lobsters!

-Kelly Randall-

Where are the big ones?

Today marked a momentous occasion at CHV. We caught our first lobster! While I am quite familiar with lobsters both in the wild, in other traps, and on the plate, this was the first time that I have caught one at Camp Harbor View.

A small, but handsome fellow. 

Last summer, despite having both a crab and lobster trap out in the water everyday, we pulled in no lobsters. Employees from previous years have also reported similar luck with Long Island lobsters. This could have been due to various factors including, but not limited to, the sandy beach that had been installed at the camp to provide a nice swimming area. Unfortunately for the camp, this area of The Harbor was never meant to hold a nice sandy beach and mother nature saw fit to return the area to the way it once was, as is often the case for man made things that try and contest with nature. This process had been happening gradually over the last few years, but this past offseason a large storm likely rolled in and claimed all of what remained.

With the beach gone it appears the lobsters have returned to the immediate area, as proven by our small catch, and the plethora of lobster traps dropped right near the shoreline and docks at Harbor View. Hopefully we will be pulling more, and larger specimens in as the summer progresses.

Also on the upswing at CHV, is the fishing. This year in fishing club has been marked by numerous catches, though to date, they have all been skates. A little foray on my part showed that the stripers are there in numbers and more than willing to take lures both on and below the surface. Regrettably, these fish were caught in an area too hazardous to take the campers, I however plan to make a return trip on Tuesday during fishing club and hopefully send the kids home with some fresh fillets.

Just a baby, but there are lots of them.

- Happy to be catching,
                Tom Rebula

Lobster for dinner

This week at McDonough we caught more lobsters in the lobster trap. I got a chance to take three lobsters to my aunt's house for dinner on her birthday. At first no one wanted to take the lobsters home, but then Sam suggested to take them home because I told him it was my aunt's birthday. She had me cook the lobsters for the family and they were easy to cook. I grabbed a big pot and boiled water in it, then put butter in the pot. After a while I put one lobster in and let it sit for twenty minutes to cook. Then, I did the same with the second and third lobsters. The lobsters fed five people in our house out of nine- the other four didn't want to try them. This all happened last minute, I didn't expect to bring back dinner for my aunt and my family but the day ended well and the meal was great.

-Andy Gomez

Gulf of Maine Lobster Regulations Explained!

Since we have been catching lobsters like crazy at McDonough Sailing Center, I thought it would be a great idea to learn about the regulations that are set on catching lobsters in our waters! Here in the Boston Harbor, we are part of an even larger body of water- the Gulf of Maine. The Gulf reaches from Cape Sable of Novia Scotia to the North, and Cape Cod, MA to the south.  

The Gulf of Maine lobster fishery has fairly strict regulations. This is to prevent a decline in populations- something that has had a detrimental effect on the Massachusetts fishing industry in the past. Without regulations, people are free to catch as many lobsters as they want. This becomes a problem because if you extract a resource quicker than it can be replenished (in this example, pull lobsters out of the water at a faster rate than they can reproduce) the resource will eventually become depleted. To prevent this from happening, the amount of lobsters that can be taken out of the Gulf is limited. In addition, the size, gender, and method are also regulated. Ever since these regulations have been implemented, lobsters have been abundant throughout the Gulf- this means the regulations and fishermen are doing a great job! 

To start with the basics in lobster landing (catching and keeping) regulations, we will talk about size limitations. In the Gulf of Maine, you are not allowed to land any lobsters that are smaller than 3 1/4" or larger than 5". This is to allow the juvenile lobsters to live and reach maturity so they can reproduce and create more lobsters, and to protect the breeding stock of larger lobsters. The 3 1/4"- 5" measurement is taken from the carapace of the lobster- meaning, the eye socket to the beginning of the tail. 

Another important regulation is that you cannot land any females with a V-shaped notch cut out of her right tail flipper! This means that at one point she has been caught while bearing eggs- now anyone else who catchers her will know that she is an actively reproducing female, and should be left alone. This is to protect the breeding stock by ensuring that there are plenty of egg-bearing females in the Gulf. You can tell if a lobster is female by looking at their first pair of swimmerets on the underside of the body. If it is a female, they will be small and soft; if it is a male they will be larger and bony. 

An egg-bearing lobster with a V-notch in her tail

The rest of the regulations are fairly easy to understand:

- Trap Limit= 10 Traps

-Bag Limit= 15 Lobsters per day

-Escape Vents on the Trap= One rectangular vent 1 15/16" x 5 3/4" or two circular vents of 2 7/16" in diameter

It is important that all fishermen, including ourselves over at McDonough, follow these rules so that there will always be plenty of tasty lobsters in the harbor for us to catch! 

-Kelly Randall

Our first lobster catch of the season!

     Today at the Harry McDonough Sailing Center in South Boston we were able to catch our first lobsters of the season! The sailing center has been a prominent hotspot for catching lobsters in years past, so it was about time we caught some. The three lobsters we caught were a spectacle to behold. Every single child on the dock wanted to see and touch these clawed insects of the sea. Sam, who visited the site for the day demonstrated the sheer force a lobster's crusher claw can exert on certain materials. Collective gasps of astonishment were heard from the campers as one of our lobsters was able to crush the sturdy calcium carbonate shell of a clam with ease.They were certainly a nice change from the usual green crabs and the occasional spider crab.

A camper with one of the lobsters we caught

     Not only did we look at lobsters, Sam and I led a group of campers out to the pier on the other side of the island to see if we could catch some striped bass. The campers were very happy to be a part of the fishing process. Some campers were tasked with preparing the bait while others were tasked with handling the professional rods Sam brought. Unfortunately, there were no striped bass to be caught. We were hoping to catch a skate or two to bait the lobster traps but they too proved to be elusive. However, the disappointment did not outweigh the good fortune of us catching the first lobsters of the season. I am confident that the team and I will catch many more!

Sam and some campers fishing at the pier

Until next time,

Vinh Tran

Lead Harbor Explorer

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Larry and I teaching Identification 101 at Courageous Sailing Center

The Boston Harbor holds plenty of surprises but Courageous Sailing Center holds much more being off of the Boston Harbor. Despite the fact that I have worked for Save the Harbor for three years and this is my first time working Courageous Sailing Center I am very pleased. Usually people expect so much of things but are not satisfied with the outcome I came into Courageous hoping the best and the first day I went home with a male lobster. I learned so much like how we can't eat female lobster because they carry sperm for up to a year, carry eggs, and over fishing is really a big problem in the Harbor.

We caught four lobster, but only one was legal. The legality of lobster is based off the measurements of its carapace. If the carapace is less than 3 1/4" it isn't able to be taken out of the harbor and eaten. Also male lobsters are the only lobsters that The Fishery Regulations allow us to eat. Many lobsters can be differentiated between male and female by the texture of the swimmerets closest to their head, if they are rough and ridged they are male, tender they are female. I took a male lobster home and made a good dinner for myself. Although I took it home I wasn't able to eat it due to my run in with mother nature and becoming sick and obtaining a swollen throat. It was an amazing first day and am looking forward to the rest of the week!

-Ahmed Hassan

A Record Breaking Day!

I hereby recognize Wednesday, July 24, 2013 as the day Piers Park and McDonough Sailing Center set their summer 2013 record for most crabs and lobsters caught in one day. We started off the day at Piers Park Sailing Center with our normal routine of hauling in the lobster trap. Instead of finding any lobsters inside, we quickly saw that the entire floor of the trap was crawling with crabs. We had crabs of all sizes, species and even a few egg-bearing females. After a somewhat slow week in catches, the kids (and summer staff) were ecstatic! Besides the sheer number of crabs caught at once, the most exciting part was finding the pregnant spider crab. It was our first spider crab of the summer at Piers Park and those creepy looking things are definitely a hit with the kids. What was even more inspiring was that as soon as the kids noticed she had eggs, they immediately wanted to throw her back in the water to ensure future generations of spider crabs. At the end of the day there were too many crabs to have an organized crab race so we emptied our tank onto the dock and watched the crabs’ mad dash back to the water – the few stragglers were herded in the right direction.

Showing off our catch!

In high spirits, we headed over to McDonough Sailing Center. As usual, we were greeted at the gate by a handful of kids waiting to use the fishing rods and crab traps. These kids have perfected the technique of combining underwater camera and crab trap to, not only haul in huge catches, but also get some amazing, up-close-and-personal views of crabs. To add to the catch count, we boated out to the lobster trap to find 4 large lobsters waiting for us. The kids learned how to measure carapace length and after determining that they all met the legal size requirements, 4 lucky kids got to bring home dinner.

Underwater camera and crab trap in action

Lobster photoshoot

Hoping for lots more lobsters to come!

Sarah C