Canadaydream: Prepare the way for the.....

Homarus Americanus,
known around these parts as
LOBSTER!

I know that for some Christians,
the advent season is just around the corner,
a time to settle into the darkness of winter
while preparing for the LIGHT.

But here, in Blue Rocks, Region 33,
we have been preparing for
Lobster Season which starts
the last Monday in November,7 a.m. sharp.

Lobster Traps ready to be loaded onto the boats
The Point, Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia

For the past month or so,
the lobster folk have been
down by the docks
preparing their traps and
colourful buoys in preparation
for the first day of Lobster Season
here on the Southshore of Nova Scotia.

rope, a weight, a buoy, a tag

traps and boats are out to sea

more traps ready to load onto the boats

each trap is tagged

Dumping Day

began today,
a day late due to 50 kilometre winds
whipping up the whitecaps yesterday.
Lobster season begins a day late in N.S. | CTV Atlantic News

Though the thermometer has
dipped into darned cold temperatures
these fishermen (and here they are all men here)
brave the weather to race out,
drop their 250 traps and
set their buoys to mark their territory.

Just around the corner from us, the docks have been empty since 7 a.m.

Finally, around 3 p.m. one boat
returns, empty of all her nets.

There are quite a few regulations surrounding

fishing for this crusty clawed crustaceans.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada monitors the regulations

a limited number of licences issued, 250 in this region
limited and staggered fishing seasons – lobster fishing is generally prohibited between July and the end of September to protect summer moults;
protection of egg-bearing females – females bearing eggs must be released back into the environment alive to ensure the reproductive cycle continues (harvesters may voluntarily cut a small v-shaped notch in the female’s tail prior to release to ensure it will be released in the future, even when not bearing eggs);
minimum lobster size limits – a measure to increase the likelihood that lobsters reach full adult maturity and reproduce;
maximum lobster size limits (or a closed window size as an alternative measure) which protects large lobsters that proportionally produce more eggs;
trap designs that allow undersized lobsters to escape and that include biodegradable escape panels to ensure traps lost at sea will not continue catching lobsters and other species; and
ongoing monitoring and enforcement of fishing regulations and licence conditions.

Licenses don't come cheap

and they are hard to come by,

usually being passed down in the family.

Kijiji, the equivalent to Craigslist in the States,

posts ads for a license.