How Deep Are Lobster Traps Set?

Lobster Trapping Process Overview

• Lobster traps are set in depths of 3 to 15 fathoms, about 100 yards apart.
• The traps’ lines are tied to prevent entanglement.
• The traps are baited with salted herring.
• Lobster buoys help locate traps to haul in lobsters across the Maine coast.
• Traps soak for two or three days.
• The funnels are 11-12 inches deep, extending halfway inside.
• Lobster fishing peaks from July through late December when most active.
• About 122,000 metric tons of lobsters are caught in the north Atlantic.
• Traps are wire-mesh baskets lowered to ocean floors 15-1000 feet deep.

Lobster Trapping Depth and Technique

• Most fishermen use traps to harvest lobsters.
• They bait rectangular, wire-mesh traps then lower them to the ocean floor in water 15 to 1,000 feet deep.
• Lobster buoys help locate traps to haul in lobsters across the Maine coast.
• American lobsters live off the Atlantic coast and all oceans.

Impact of Bait Availability

• When herring is scarce, bait prices rise, impacting fishermen.