In 1883 it was made illegal to can lobsters less than 9 inches in length.  In 1885 the canning season was fixed from April 1 to July 15.  In 1889 the season was fixed from May 1 to July 1, and the minimum length of lobsters to be canned placed at 9 inches.  In 1891 this act was so amended as to make the season from April 20 to June 1.  After 1880 the number of canneries gradually declined, until in 1895 the last one suspended the canning, of lobsters, owing to the passage of a law fixing the minimum size at 10-1/2 inches.  This law went into effect July 1, 1895.  As they could not afford to pay the high price demanded for this size they were compelled to give up the business.

The following table shows the number of factories in operation, the quantity and value of fresh lobsters used, and the number and value of cans of lobsters put up, in the years 1880, 1889, and 1892: 

1880                1889                1892
-------------       -------------      --------------
No.      Value       No.      Value       No.      Value
---     -----       ---     -----       ---     -----
Number of
canneries            23                  20                  11
Lobsters used,
fresh   lbs.  9,494,284  $95,000  5,752,654  $72,092  9,494,284  $95,000

Canned
   One-lb cans 1,542,696 999,521 126,577 1,228,944 195,114
   Two-lb cans 148,704 85,520 16,036 3,096 839
   Other sizes 139,801
                 --------- ------- --------- ------- --------- -------
   Total cans 1,831,201 238,280 1,085,041 142,613 1,232,040 195,953

Part of the lobsters used in the Eastport factories come from New
Brunswick.  It is impossible to separate them.

ABUNDANCE, ETC.

There are no accurate figures showing the catch of lobsters in Maine previous to 1880.  It is therefore difficult to make comparisons, and one is compelled to depend largely upon the memory of the fishermen and the statements of the canners and dealers, which the lapse of time, etc., makes rather unreliable.  The numerous petitions sent to the legislature asking for restrictive laws, while possibly exaggerated at times, indicate that there were fears of the exhaustion of the fishery for some years back.  It is positively known, however, that certain grounds have been almost or totally exhausted through overfishing for a number of years, while on other grounds the supply of lobsters has seriously decreased.  There was a time when no lobster under 2 pounds in weight was saved by the fishermen.  In later years, before there was a restriction fixing the minimum size of lobsters that could be canned, the canneries frequently used half-pound lobsters.  The fixing of the minimum length of the lobsters caught at 10-1/2 inches, and the consequent closing up of the canneries, has been of incalculable benefit to the fishermen, as the young lobsters now have an opportunity to reach maturity.