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Lobsters
The lobster, a crustacean, has its skeleton on the outside of it’s body and to grow must shed the shell, a process called molting. Very young lobsters molt 3-4 times a year, increasing 50 % in weight and 15 % in length with each molt. In the waters of the Bay of Fundy lobsters take 8 or more years to reach legal size at 81 mm carapace length (CL). At that size, they weigh 0.45 kg (1 lb.) and molt once a year. Larger lobsters molt less often, with a 1.4 kg (3 lb) lobster molting every 3-4 years. The largest lobster ever reported was 20 kg (44 lb), estimated to be 40-65 years old.
At an estimated 104 mm CL, Bay Of Fundy lobsters have the largest average size at maturity across the range of the lobster, due to the colder waters they experience. Mature females mate after molting in midsummer and the following summer produce eggs that they attach to the underside of their tails. The eggs are carried for 10-12 months and hatch in either July or August. The larvae spend 30-60 days in the plankton, before settling to the bottom and seeking shelter. For the first 2-3 years of benthic life, lobsters remain in or near their shelter to avoid the small fish that feed on them. As they grow, and have less chance of being eaten, they move about and become catchable by lobster traps.
Lobsters are found in coastal waters from southern Labrador to Maryland, with the major fisheries in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Gulf of Maine. Lobsters make seasonal migrations, moving to shallower waters in summer and deeper waters in winter. Over most of the lobster’s range, these movements amount to a few kilometers. However in the Bay of Fundy and other areas, lobsters can undertake long distance migrations of 10s to 100s of km. Tagging studies have also shown that at least some of these lobster return to the same area each year.
Landings have increased dramatically over the past two years and are well above average levels. Mean size of the catch in the upper bay has declined by about 10 mm (due to increased recruitment), but there has been no change in mean size in other areas where catches have been sampled. Because of the large number of pre-recruit lobsters appearing in at-sea samples, landings over 1000 tonnes are expected to continue for several years.
Photo - Steven Garrity
Fresh Caught Lobster
Photo - Daniel Hurst
Hauling Traps
SCALLOPS
Scallops are marine mollusks (phylum Mollusca) of the class Pelecypoda, family Pectinidae.
They are bivalves, with two hard shells (or valves) and a soft body. The rounded shells are ridged, with the lower valve usually larger than the upper, and flared "ears" at the hinge. Ridges radiate out along each valve in the shape of a fan. The edges of the shell are sharp and undulating, thus giving these them their common name. The valves are opened and closed by a single large muscle, the adductor muscle. This is the "meat", the only part of the scallop that is usually eaten. Along the edges of the mantle (the outer fold of skin enclosing the interior organs or viscera) are numerous steely-blue, iridescent, primitive eyes; these are sensitive to changes in light intensity, and help to detect predators. Scallops are suspension or filter feeders, using currents created by short hairs (cilia) on the gills to move and filter water containing suspended particulate material, mainly phytoplankton and organic detritus. Growth rates are positively related to water temperature and food supply, and negatively related to age. Scallops are benthic animals, spending most of their time in sub-tidal waters on a soft sea bottom. Unlike many other bivalve mollusks, they are mobile, using jet propulsion to move by opening and closing their shells quickly, and squirting water out by the ears of the shells in spurts a process known as "clapping". They gradually lose this ability as they grow larger. There are 350 species of scallops around the world, but two are important in northeastern North America: the North Atlantic deep-sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) and the Atlantic bay scallop ( Argopecten irradians).
THE SEA SCALLOP (Placopecten magellanicus)
Genus Placopecten is described as without ribs; with radial striae; right valve smoother; ears unequal; valves with slight convexity (Abbott, 1974). The shell is broad, almost circular, and flattened at the hinge; sizes ranges from 12 – 20 cm. The exterior of the shell is rough, yellowish grey to purplish grey or dirty white, while the interior of the shell is flaky white. Sea scallops occur along the continental shelf of North America from Labrador south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. North of Cape Cod, scattered concentrations occur in shallow water, often just below the low tide mark; further south, aggregations are restricted to deeper, cooler, offshore waters. Sea scallops are intolerant of water temperatures above 20-22 degrees C; the southern extremity of their range and their distribution in costal estuaries are related to temperature.
SCALLOP FISHING
Scallops on Campobello Island are a most valuable seafood catch and the Bay of Fundy Scallops are the best in the world. There are two main types on the Atlantic coasts: the smaller bay scallop and the commercially important offshore sea scallop. Scallops are harvested by specially rigged boats called "draggers" which tow drags equipped with large wire-mesh bags along the ocean bottom.
Nine metal cages are ganged together so that they can all be dumped at once onto the boat. There are often many empty shells or "clappers" and other debris. After the drag has been reset, the scallops are opened by hand using a shucking knife. No method of mechanically shucking a scallop has been successfully devised. The shells and viscera are discarded at sea.
SHUCKING SCALLOPS
A scallop is shucked by first running a knife around between the shells, cutting through the adductor muscle, and flipping off the flat shell. The knife is then run under the edge of the viscera, which are pulled up and away, leaving the adductor muscle attached to the lower shell.
The scallop muscle (the "meat") is cut off and placed into pails for processing.
Scallops
CLAMS
The five clam species of primary interest to fishers are Manila, nativelittleneck, butter, razor and varnish clams. Manila and littleneck clams are similar in appearance, both possessing lines that go up and across on the outer surface of their shells. Manilas are elongated in profile and purple on the inside of the shells, while littlenecks are round with white on the inside of the shells.
Butter clams are large and thick shelled, with only common centre lines on the shells.
Both varnish and razor clams have a shiny brown covering on the outer surface of the shells.
Varnish clams are round in profile with a large external ligament at the hinge, while razor clams are oblong in shape.
Manila, littleneck, butter and varnish clams live in gravel and sand beaches in protected bays.
Butter Clam
Little Neck Clam
Manilla Clams
Razor Clam
Varnish Clams
The most effective method for digging manila clams is an ordinary short-tined garden rake. On beaches with extensive populations of littleneck clams, diggers use long-tined rakes. The butter clams, lying further below the surface and further down the beach, are usually dug with a garden-type, long-handled potato fork.
Razor clams are dug individually with a short-handled, thin-bladed shovel. Harvesters are encouraged to fill in holes to reduce predation on exposed juvenile clams.
Sea Urchins
Green Sea Urchin
The daily limit for sea urchins is 12.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON URCHINS
SQUID
Squid are swimming soft-bodied animals characterized by a muscular tube called the mantle. The mantle has fins at the narrow end, contains the internal organs and is open at the end supporting the head, arms. Squid have large eyes, 10 arms and two feeding tentacles that have suckers and sometimes hooks on pads at the ends.
They swim slowly using their fins and force water from the mantle through a siphon for burst of greater speed.
Depending on activity level, squid change colour rapidly. Humboldt squid are very large (up to 200 cm and 45 kg) and are brown or red in colour.
Humboldt Squid
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The Campobello Tourism Association is a non profit organization comprised of local entrepreneurs who works for the development, marketing and promotion of the island. Their goal is to encourage tourism providers to provide stellar tourism services, and to assist with the growth of local tourism enterprises & island economy.
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