Did You Know This About the Lobster Trap?

Lobster traps are everywhere across the shores of the SouthCoast, and I have always wondered who the heck thought of that metal cage that makes our fishing community so much money.

I'm not a fan of lobster but I know so many people who absolutely love those crawling little creatures. They have always been such a big part of our area's bustling fishing community.

Well, the Nahant Historical Society recently answered the question I'd had all my life about lobster traps. It turns out the inventor of these metal cages was from Nahant, which is near Gloucester, up past Boston. They originally started as wooden traps that were pretty heavy to manage. This was back in 1808, so many changes have taken place in the lobster industry since then.

A few years later in 1810 lobstermen on Cape Cod began to dominate the industry and then the SouthCoast. It wasn't until 1956 that a wire mesh lobster traped was used and now we see these types of traps off our coast.

These traps are now used all over the world in various different forms. And thank goodness for them, as opposed to having to lift those heavy wood traps out of the water, because I'm sure all that extra hard work would only drive the price of lobster up even higher.

So while you bite into some lobster and dip that baby into butter this weekend, you can share this historical tidbit with those around you.