Maine lobsters are world famous and less expensive than steak in 2009. Wise conservation measures have contributed to the continued abundance of this marine natural resource. The Maine lobstermen of Monhegan Island led the way in conservation more than one hundred years ago. Unlike non-renewable resources such as oil or coal, biological resources such as lobsters replace themselves so long as harvests do not exceed the rate of replacement. In 1907 the farsighted lobstermen of Monhegan jointly decided to stop harvesting lobsters during the warm-weather breeding season. Just two years later the state legislators endorsed the Monhegan area practice by law. A perhaps not unanticipated result was that "inshore" lobstermen no longer encroached on the Monhegan grounds because they only put to sea in the warmer months. This early conservation policy may help explain the current abundance of lobsters and their affordable price.
What must be recognized is that the Monhegan lobsterman made a difficult and dangerous job more so due to the rough seas and cold temperatures from January to June in the North Atlantic. Note that, by law, egg-bearing female lobsters must be thrown back by all Maine lobstermen. Maine lobsterman are quick to point out that neighboring states are less protective of the lobster resource by allowing destructive dredging and generous size limits. Each lobsterman`s license allows eight hundred traps. That limits the number of lobsters one man can haul. When demand falls, prices fall, and individual lobstermen seek good grounds. Good areas may have hundreds of competing traps. At the peak of the 2009 tourist season lobsters have been selling for less that $6.00 a pound on the dock. That low price and high fuel costs have resulted in shootings, boats sunk and sabotage of trap lines. Inshore lobstermen have entered traditional island waters in search of good trap sites. All of the above brings us back to the fore sight of the Monhegan islanders in 1907. They only face the North Atlantic, not the added threat of inshore boats while protecting the resource that they depend upon. | 
