Here’s a challenge: think about Maine without thinking about lobsters. Can’t do it, can you? You’re thinking about lobsters right now, aren’t you? Of course you are. Maine and lobsters are nearly synonymous.

Mmmmm…. lobsters.

There aren’t many foods that form an entire iconic industry, but the tradition of lobstering and the legacy of Maine lobsters is a force to be reckoned with.Maine lobster is one of the oldest continuously operated industries in North America, and the state established its first commercial lobster fishery in the 1840s (when lobsters cost about 2 cents EACH).

Prior to that, lobsters were basically considered an abundant pest and only eaten by the poor. Indeed, they were so plentiful that in his journals, Ferdinand Magellan remarked that they were as thick as molasses in some parts of the coastal waters he explored.

Whereas technology has allowed other industries to develop and modernize to the point that dairy farmers and commercial fishermen from the turn of the 20th century, for example, might not even recognize their trade today, modern lobster harvesters operate much like their predecessors did. They predominantly haul lobsters by hand, one trap at a time, and the job often passes down through families and close-knit communities.

But it’s still big business. In fact, the lobster industry is second only to timber (per capita) in Maine and accounts for hundreds of millions of dollars per season. And the entire supply chain contributes about $1 billion annually to the Maine economy. Which is impressive when you consider that it’s composed of only about 5,000 active lobstermen working almost exclusively in family-run companies.

And it’s even more impressive when you learn that Maine lobster accounts for 80-90 percent of all lobster sold and eaten in the United States.

When you go on an excursion with Maine lobstermen, as we recently did in the waters of Casco Bay near Portland with Lucky Catch Cruises, you learn a few of the basics about hauling up everyone’s favorite seafood treat.

To protect lobsters at both ends of the spectrum, Maine has minimum and maximum size restrictions for what you’re allowed to keep (and what you have to throw back). Measure the lobster from the eye socket to the rear of the body shell (where the tail starts). If it’s less than 3 1/4 inches or more than 5 inches, it goes back. But the lobsters between those two magic numbers?

Dinner.

It’s important to note that breeding females (those carrying eggs) must be returned to the ocean so they can continue having babies. They’re essentially protected for life, which helps ensure a healthy future for the lobster industry.

And this is why lobsters over 5 inches are tossed back. Protected females will just keep growing, and they need large males to mate with. If the size discrepancy between the male and female is too great, it… doesn’t work out too well.

Yes, those are all eggs. Commence screaming.

However, we should also mention that, despite the care taken by the lobster industry, all the responsible lobstering practices in the world can’t prevent an uncertain future. The Gulf of Maine is home to 250 million lobsters and is more densely populated with lobsters than anywhere else in the world. Thanks to climate change, it’s also warming faster than 99.9 percent of the world’s oceans.

This has created a bonanza of lobsters that seem to thrive in slightly warmer water, but the resulting boom is a bubble waiting to burst. Sea surface temperatures are expected to climb 3 percent in the next 75 years, and lobsters will almost assuredly pay the price first.

Hermit crabs are among the many sea creatures that come up in lobster traps.

If you find yourself in coastal Maine with a few hours to spare, we heartily recommend a lobster tour. You’ll get an up-close-and-personal view of what’s involved with hauling traps and measuring lobsters, you’ll get a hands-on lesson in hard shell versus soft shell and how to tell the difference between males and females, and you’ll earn a unique perspective on the food you’re shelling out big bucks to eat.

There are a number of companies that run lobstering cruises up and down the Maine coast. If you want to depart from Portland and explore Casco Bay, though, Lucky Catch Cruises is one of the oldest and most well known. It’s also who we opted to go with during our time in Maine. Their lobstering schedule (for tourists) runs from the beginning of May through the end of October.

They also offer several different itineraries (which follow different routes and include different sights around the bay, such as Portland Headlight, Fort Gorges, and White Head Passage), so check them out here. All tours last about an hour and a half and prices for 2019 are $35/person (seniors and kids are slightly cheaper).