How Do Fishermen Trap Lobsters?

Years ago, lobster fishermen caught their prey by reaching down into the water with long hooked poles and lifting lobsters from the sea bottom.

But today, lobstermen use pots called creels to catch their prey. The fishermen put bits of dried fish into the pots and lower them to the sea bottom. A lobster can crawl into the pot through an opening and snare the bait.

But once inside the creel, a lobster can’t escape without getting tangled up in the net that forms the funnel-shaped opening. The next morning, the lobstermen pull up all the creels they put down the day before, and count their catch.

If two or more lobsters enter the same creel, they usually fight and even kill each other!