Fishermen use wire traps submerged on the ocean bottom to catch lobster. Traps are attached to ropes and marked by buoys on the surface. The traps attract lobster with fish bait and capture them live. Using small boats, lobstermen haul their traps every two to three days. This traditional fishing method has little impact on the ocean bottom and traps minimal bycatch or unwanted fish.

Lobster traps consist of a rectangular wooden or wire frame covered with nylon netting. The traps capture lobster live by attracting them through an entrance to the centre of the trap where the bait is located. As more lobsters enter the trap, the others move into a side “parlour.” Once inside the holding parlour, the larger lobsters are unable to escape. All traps have an escape hatch to allow small lobster, crabs and fish to get out.

Modern lobster traps, also called pots, are rectangular in shape and made of coated wire mesh.  The rectangular shape makes them easier to stack. Today’s wire traps have replaced wooden traps of yesteryear. From small boats typically less than 45 feet, traps are generally fished in configurations of one to six traps per buoy. Multi-trap configurations are called trawls and new regulations require a minimum number of traps per buoy to minimize whale entanglement.

Traps attract lobster with bait through an entrance in the trap called the “head” which leads them into the “kitchen” where the bait bag is located.  When the lobster tries to leave the trap, it follows a funnel shaped net and lands in the “bedroom” or “parlor”.  Some traps have more than one kitchen and bedroom.  Traps are required to have an escape vent that is large enough to allow small lobster, crabs and fish to get out. Despite popular belief that the lobsters are “trapped,” lobster have been videoed on the ocean bottom freely entering and exiting traps.