From collection Kosti Ruohomaa Collection
LB2017.19.45506
A tank keeps lobsters alive on the AMANDA R on Penobscot Bay. Kosti Ruohomaa documented the lobster fishery multiple times, including when he took photos for the International Harvester Organization for their magazine, International Trails. Twenty-two photos were published in the March 1955 issue: on the cover, and in an article from p.3-6. Kosti photographed Fred Simmons and other Penobscot Bay lobstermen at their work, the truckers that transport the catch, and the lobster festival in Rockland. Today, Maine Lobster fishermen bring in 80% of the U.S. lobster catch and the fishery is a significant part of the Maine economy. Lobstermen go out before dawn in boats to pull up and empty traps. Lobsters are measured and many are thrown back to conform to conservation measures. Traps are baited again, often with herring, and lowered once again to the ocean floor. Conservation laws for lobster were enacted as early as the 19th c. in Maine, and as a result of continued regulation, the lobster population continues strong in 2022 after many other fisheries in Maine have collapsed.
