Despite the Cold, Lobstermen Bringing Up the Ghosts

The Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation has been working to get “ghost gear,” lobster traps lost at sea, off the bottom of the Gulf of Maine since 2009. To recover lost traps, the Foundation contracts with lobstermen to drag specially made grappling gear in areas where traps are known to be lost and grappling is a viable retrieval method. Currently fishermen in Southport, Boothbay, Owls Head and Stonington have contracts with the Foundation to gather the lost gear.

Photos by M. Philbrook

Lobster traps are inadvertently lost each season due to lines being cut by vessel propellors, buoys parting from the line, or simply by being dragged about by fierce storms and currents. The traps then lie on the bottom, unseen, potentially trapping other species and posing navigational problems.

“We are really excited to have fishermen working on this and are amazed by their yields and grit through this weather. We couldn’t do it without the fishermen who know where the traps are and how to get them efficiently,” said Emma Weed, program manager.

Owls Head lobsterman Micah Philbrook took part in the retrieval effort during a cold week in January. “We are getting some junk off the bottom. We found 45 ghost traps in one day, ranging from a piece of old wood trap, gear from 1990s, 2000s, all the way to ones lost a few months ago. It was wicked cold and windy and the tide was ripping. But we still got a lot done,” he said. Philbrook and his crew grappled in Owls Head waters near the Penobscot Bay shipping lane for three days and collected 160 lost traps in total. “We have barely scratched the surface,” he said.

For more information about the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation and its gear retrieval program, email Emma Weed at emma@gomlf.org or call 207-669-2814.

Photos by M. Philbrook