Still trying to make the most of our day off, and since the swelling on my shin was down (after a good icing), we went to
Mt Desert Oceanarium, just around the corner from home.
Really enjoyed this place, fascinating - and the only lobster hatchery in the U.S. They have tanks displaying Maine lobster, spiny lobster (the little guys from the keys) and a fabulous blue lobster. The highlight for me was the hatchery...a big mama with eggs, little tubes with individual tiny babies, and huge tubes loaded with the bigger babies which are then released on the ocean floor. In Maine, lobstering regulations mean that lobstermen have to release a lot of the lobster caught in their traps - too big, too little, or females with eggs have to be released. (In many other areas such as down in Massachussetts, they can keep the big ones but in Maine, any lobster not within the
3.5 minumum to 5 inch maximum carapice has to be released.)
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| At the hatchery for a short presentation |
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| The little tiny babes (can you see them?) separated in little tubes |
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| Mama lobster with her eggs |
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| As the babes grow, released into these big tubes |
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| Lots of little guys ready to be released |
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