The Hurricane Island Foundation hosted ten Proctor Academy students and two of their staff for 6 days on Hurricane Island. Their work included a Lobster Fisheries Program for two days in May.
These students had been traveling from the West Coast to East Coast of the continental US studying food systems from fisheries on the West Coast to agricultural farming in the Midwest. Proctor students used Hurricane as a place to work on their independent projects as the culmination of their cross-country trip. They also did service work, including digging the ditch for the cable for our power system. In addition, these students spent two days doing a program on lobster fisheries, and visited the Vinalhaven Fisherman’s Co-op as part of this study.
A snapshot of materials covered in this course:
- Overview/Presentation of Lobster Fishery in Maine- Policies, Regulations, Zone descriptions, DMR, Trap limits, Annual Yields, Bait industry, Distribution, Canada/US, Stock Assessment, Lobster research in Maine etc., take Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Recreational Lobster License Exam.
- Overview of lobster gear (traps, rope, buoys, bait, tools etc.).
- Buoy painting
- Coastal Cleanup—collect fisheries related marine debris around Hurricane
- Lobster Anatomy and Biology
- Trip out on a Vinalhaven lobster boat
