Live lobsters are much preferred by the trade throughout the country,
and only those that can not be marketed in such condition are boiled.
The number boiled fluctuates considerably, owing to the condition
of the markets. When the fresh markets of Boston and New York are
overstocked, the lobster dealers of Rockland and Portland, where most
of the Maine lobsters are boiled, proceed to boil their surplus stock.
The following description of the boiling is from The Fisheries and
Fishery Industries of the United States, section v, vol. II, p. 684:
The boilers are rectangular wooden tanks or vats of about 60
gallons capacity, lined with zinc and furnished with a cover.
Heat is applied by the introduction of steam through a series of
perforated pipes arranged in the bottom of the tank. The steam
is generated in an ordinary boiler standing close at hand. The
lobsters are not thrown directly into the vat, as the operation
of removing them after cooking would in such an event be an
exceedingly tedious one; but an iron framework basket, of rather
slender bars is made to fit the tank loosely, and is lowered and
raised by means of a small derrick placed over the tank. This
frame, which holds about 300 pounds, is filled with lobsters at
the edge of the wharf from the floating cars, and is then carried
to the tank and lowered into it after the water it contains has
reached the desired temperature, that of boiling. The water is
first supplied to the tank, which is filled to about one-third or
two-thirds its capacity, about a peck of salt is added, and then
the steam is turned on. The same water suffices for several
successive boilings, about 2 quarts of salt being added each time.
The lobsters are allowed to remain in about half an hour, or until
the proper red color indicates they are sufficiently cooked.
[Illustration: Boiling live lobsters preparatory to shipping on ice,
showing boiler, steam tank, cage, etc.]
After cooling, they are packed in barrels for shipment, just as live
lobsters are. When well iced they will keep a week or longer. Only
live lobsters are boiled, as the meat of those which die prior to
boiling deteriorates rapidly.
The fishermen and small dealers use various kinds of boilers, from an
ordinary washboiler to a smaller form of the regular boiler used by
the large dealers. The product prepared by these people is generally
picked from the shell and sold locally in that condition. This opens
a way for the fisherman to evade the 10-1/2 inch limit law. They
frequently take lobsters under the minimum legal size and, after
boiling them, pick the flesh. It is then impossible for anybody to
tell what sized lobster the meat had come from. Quite a local trade
in the picking of lobsters has been established in a number of small
coast towns, the meat generally being sold in the immediate vicinity.
The following table shows the extent of the wholesale lobster trade in
Rockland and Portland during 1898, including everything connected with
the business except the smacks and pounds, which are shown elsewhere.
There are a few other dealers scattered along the coast, but most of
the business is concentrated at these cities. An idea of the extent
of the increase in the lobster trade of Portland can be gained when
it is stated that in 1880 about 1,900,000 pounds of lobsters, valued
at $70,000, were handled here, while 6,145,821 pounds, valued at
$611,955, were handled in 1898.
Extent of the wholesale lobster trade of Rockland and Portland
in 1898.
Rockland Portland
-------- --------
Value of property,
capital, and wages
Property, etc $14,338 $44,770
Cars 850 6,800
Cash Capital 22,000 110,500
Wages 4,676 18,198
Number of persons engaged
Firms 2 10*
Proprietors 3 13
Clerks 2 2
Other Employees 7 31
Rockland Portland
Lobsters bought -------------- ---------------
and sold No. Value No. Value
--------------- --- ----- --- -----
Bought, No. 692,188 4,097,214
Bought, lbs. 1,038,282 $89,984 6,145,821 $611,955
Sold, lbs. 795,934 91,532 5,308,027 690,045
Sold, lbs. 347,815 26,705 515,518 82,483
*Several of these firms also handle other fishery products.