The Penobscot Marine Museum plans to mount an exhibit on the lobstering industry this summer in Searsport. “Lobsta! From Bait to the Plate” will show something of the life of lobsters, the work needed to catch them and what Maine’s lobstermen and scientists do to ensure that dinners will continue to be served.
“It’s going to be a fun family friendly exhibit like the pirate exhibit we did last summer,” says curator Ben Fuller. “To make sure that we have the story straight, licensed lobstermen and their families can come to the Museum free this summer. Just show your license.”
A centerpiece of the exhibit will be the museum’s Vinal Beal-built lobsterboat. The number of lobstermen working the Penobscot water from Port Clyde to Isle au Haut is about a thousand,” Fuller notes. “In the boat house where the Beal boat lives, we have enough space for a thousand or so buoys hanging on the wall and from the overhead – wouldn’t it be something if we had a trap buoy from each Penobscot lobsterman hanging up? I know that there are a lot more lobstermen, but this is just what will fit.”
Fuller is asking individual fishermen to donate a buoy to the exhibit. “If you could provide a snapshot of your boat along with the buoy that would be great,” he said. “We’ll keep a roster of those that are helping in the exhibit.”
Buoys can be dropped off at the museum, or Hamilton Marine at its Searsport or Rockland stores. The museum also may make arrangements to collect them at local lobster council meetings.
Persons with other material that might be good in this kind of exhibit, send an email to bfuller@penobscotmarinemuseum.org or call 548-2529 ext 207.
The Searsport museum’s other offerings will include a photo exhibit showing some of the people that lobster, and “The Art of Lobstering”, a chance to see how the many artists on the coast depict lobstering. These pieces will be subject to a jury of people in the industry. The museum is also planning an exhibit on lobsterboat racing, and one that shows lobster art as seen on signs.