Hauling Traps and Learning the Trade
Twelve local youth recently spent Saturday, June 13, on the coast of Maine taking part in a hands-on lobstering experience in Friendship, where they stepped directly into the working world of one of the state’s most iconic industries.
The trip, organized through Grand Lake Hunt, brought youth ages 10–16 out of the woods and lakes region of northern Maine and onto the open water for a day of learning that combined education, outdoor adventure, and real-world experience. The group departed early in the morning from Danforth under the supervision of Corey Lord and Gil Salon, returning later that evening after a full day on the water.
The goal of the trip was to give youth the opportunity to experience a working coastal environment firsthand. With all costs covered, including transportation, food, and the lobsters caught during the day, participants were able to take part without any financial burden on their families. Corey Lord, the visionary behind the program, intends to continue building similar outdoor learning experiences in the future.
Once on the water, the group got right to work. Throughout the day, they pulled traps both by hand and with a mechanical hauler, measured and sorted lobsters, and learned how to identify legal sizes and protect future populations by properly handling egg-bearing females. They also rebaited traps and were introduced to basic navigation equipment used in commercial fishing.
Conditions on the water were calm, offering smooth travel between trap lines and plenty of opportunity for observation, conversation, and a few completely unnecessary rubber band pops among the group.
There were surprises along the way, too. Youth spotted sculpin fish, watched harbor seals lounge on rocks, and caught sight of a kelp eel moving through the water. Some things simply can’t be planned.
By the end of the day, the group had brought home a total of 75 lobsters, which were distributed among participants to take home. They also collected several conchs for cooking. Back in Danforth, the excitement carried on. A few asked whether they could participate again next year. Their first time aboard a working lobster boat—and their first real look at what it takes to make a living on the water, from early hours to physical labor to years of built-up knowledge—left an impression that is likely to stick.
The people behind the trip see it as part of something larger. The goal is to keep building outdoor learning experiences that take local youth somewhere genuinely different, expose them to ways of life they might not otherwise encounter, and ensure those opportunities remain free so cost is never a barrier. Exciting adventures have happened for many kids and plans are already developing for future trips.
For now, twelve young people from the Greater East Grand region know what it feels like to haul a trap, hold a lobster, and spend a day working on the coast of Maine. And that, as they say, makes us happier than a clam.
