PROJECTS: The Maine Lobstermen's Association V-Notch Survey

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) began the v-notch survey in 1982 to monitor the abundance of v-notched lobsters in Maine. Since 2001, the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation has managed the project, expanding participation to include lobstermen from Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The long-term objective of this study is to monitor the abundance of v-notch lobsters in the nearshore waters of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

The v-notch survey takes place in mid-October. During any two days of the survey week, lobstermen record the number of eggers, v-notch, and oversize lobsters on datacards. Participation has varied over the years ranging from 50 to 200 lobstermen, averaging more than 100 lobstermen in recent years. Mid-October was chosen because there is usually a good run of eggers and v-notched lobsters, and the weather is still good enough to haul traps regularly.

The “v-notch” is a conservation tool to protect female lobsters observed with eggs. Lobstermen who catch an egg-bearing female are required to cut a “v” shaped notch into the middle right flipper of the tail. It is illegal to land any egg-bearing female lobster or v-notched lobster in the United States and in most of Canada. The v-notch stays with the lobster for at least 2 molts (usually 2 years), protecting it from the fishery so that it can reproduce again and contribute to the long-term sustainability of the resource.

V-notch protection of lobsters has existed in Maine since 1975, with the genesis of the law dating back to 1917. In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s there was momentum among scientists and regulators to remove the v-notch measure from the management plan. At that time, the law prohibited the landing lobsters with a v-notch, but notching lobsters was voluntary. Scientists and managers did not believe that enough lobstermen were notching lobsters to provide conservation benefit to the resource.

Lobstermen were convinced that v-notch protection was crucial to the sustainability of the resource, and knew firsthand that they were not only notching egg-bearing females, but re-notching females if the notch was small. Results from the v-notch survey were instrumental in expanding v-notch protection from just Maine to federal waters in 1987, and in state waters outside of Maine in 1997. In 2003, the v-notching of egg bearing females in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts became mandatory.