Downeast Fisheries Trail
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  • Trail Stories
    • STAND: a poetic exploration of Lubec smokehouses
    • Student stories about Downeast Fisheries
    • Spring is here, and that means fish — lots of fish
    • Lobstering Firsts
    • From Lobster Smacks to Lobster Pounds
    • The Downeast Fisheries Trail by regions
  • Fisheries Now
    • Alewives and Blueback Herring
    • American eel
    • Downeast Maine Edible Sea Vegetable Fishery
    • Marine Worms
    • Oysters
  • Fisheries Then
    • Alewives and Blueback Herring
    • American eel
    • Atlantic Halibut
    • Clams
    • Cod
    • Lobster
    • Marine Worms
    • Oysters
    • Seaweed
  • Education & Resources
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Trail Stories: Lobstering Firsts

Did you know that the first recorded lobster catch was in 1605, when Captain George Weymouth’s vessel the Archangel anchored off of St. George’s Island and he set men out to fish.  James Rosier, the ships recorder, noted that they “drew a small net of twenty fathoms very nigh the shore:  we got about thirty very good and great Lobsters…”

Lobster boats, photo from NOAA

Lobster boats, photo from NOAA

The first Mainer to use a lobster smack was Elisha Oakes from Harpswell in 1830, and the industry began in earnest.  Smacks were invented by the Dutch, and consisted of a sailing vessel with a tank or well carved into the deck with holes to allow for the circulation of fresh sea water.  Lobsters could be placed in the well and then transported live for greater distances.  This opened up markets out of state in places like New York and Pennsylvania.

The first tidal lobster pound in Maine was on Vinylhaven in 1875.

It was in the 1870s that lobsters were first shipped by rail, and in the 1950s the first lobsters were shipped via cargo planes

Hydraulic pot haulers were also introduced in the 1950s, as was the first wire lobster trap invented by James Knott in 1957 – though they didn’t become popular until the 1970s.

The first regulation placed on the lobster fishery was in 1828, which banned those from outside of the state to fish in Maine waters.  This was followed nearly 50 years later by the first conservation measure which prohibited the landing of egg-bearing lobsters.

Many sites on the Downeast Fisheries Trail highlight the amazing lobster industry history in Maine.  From the site of early tidal lobster pounds in Prospect Harbor and Tidal Falls, to working lobster pounds and wharfs in Beals, Jonesport, Milbridge and Isleford, to the Maine’s largest lobster processing plant in Prospect Harbor, at the site of one of the last facilities in the country to can sardines

Trail Sites

  • Abbe Museum
  • Bad Little Falls Park
  • Bar Harbor Town Park
  • Bar Harbor Town Pier
  • Beals Heritage Center
  • Bucksport Waterfront
  • Cable Pool Park
  • Carryingplace Cove
  • Cobscook Bay Resource Center
  • Cobscook Bay State Park
  • Craig Brook National Fish Hatchery
  • Deer Isle – Stonington Historical Society
  • Downeast Institute
  • Frazer Point
  • Frenchman Bay Overlook
  • Frenchman Bay Scenic Turnout
  • Gleason Cove Park
  • Gordon’s Wharf
  • Great Harbor Maritime Museum
  • Green Lake National Fish Hatchery
  • Henry Cove
  • Islesford Historical Museum
  • Jonesport Historical Society
  • Long Cove
  • Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries (formerly Penobscot East Resource Center)
  • Maine Coast Sardine History Museum
  • McCurdy’s Smokehouse
  • Milbridge Historical Museum
  • Milbridge Town Marina
  • Morong Cove
  • Mount Desert Oceanarium
  • Naskeag Point
  • Otter Cove
  • Penobscot Marine Museum
  • Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory & Fort Knox
  • Peter Gray Hatchery
  • Pleasant River Hatchery
  • Prospect Harbor
  • Quoddy Head State Park
  • Roosevelt-Campobello International Park
  • Shackford Head State Park
  • Somesville Mill Pond
  • Taunton Bay Gateway
  • Tidal Falls
  • Waponahki Museum & Resource Center

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The Downeast Fisheries Trail consists of 45 locations from Penobscot Bay, Maine, to Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick, that showcase active and historic fisheries heritage sites, such as fish hatcheries, aquaculture facilities, fishing harbors, clam flats, processing plants, historical societies, community centers, parks, and other related places. The Trail is an effort to raise awareness among residents and visitors of the importance of the region’s maritime heritage and the role of marine resources to the area’s economy. The Trail builds on these local resources to strengthen community life and the experience of visitors.

For a printed map-brochure of the Trail, please call 207.581.1435.

Download the web version of the map-brochure. (6.8 MB)

For more information about the Downeast Fisheries Trail, email or call 207.288.2944 x5834.

Downeast Fisheries Trail Brochure Map - Web Version

Downeast Fisheries Trail Brochure Map - Web Version

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