If you’ve ever walked a Maine fishing pier or scrolled through maritime photos online, you’ve probably seen them: those wire or wooden cages sitting on the deck of a lobster boat. Some people call them traps. Others call them pots. And if you ask a few fishermen, you’ll get different answers depending on where they’re from and what generation they belong to. So what’s the real difference between a lobster trap and a lobster pot? The short answer is that they’re largely the same thing used for the same purpose—catching lobster. But the longer answer gets into regional terminology, design evolution, and a surprisingly rich history that stretches back centuries.
The Terminology: Why Some Say Trap and Others Say Pot
In the simplest terms, a lobster trap and a lobster pot are the same piece of fishing gear. Both are baited cages dropped to the ocean floor to capture lobster. The difference is mostly geographic and cultural.
In New England—particularly Maine and Massachusetts—fishermen overwhelmingly say “lobster trap.” It’s the standard term used by the Maine Department of Marine Resources and in most American fisheries literature. Walk into any marine supply shop from Portland to Bar Harbor, and you’ll ask for trap materials.
Across the Atlantic, especially in the UK, Ireland, and Atlantic Canada, the same device is almost universally called a “lobster pot.” The term “pot” has been used in British and Irish fishing communities for centuries and predates the American usage of “trap.” In Cornwall, the traditional Cornish lobster pot made of willow or hazel has been in use for over a thousand years. The language stuck, even as modern materials replaced traditional ones.
So if you’re fishing in Boothbay Harbor, you set traps. If you’re fishing off the coast of Cornwall, you haul pots. Same gear, different vocabulary.
A Brief History of Lobster Traps and Pots
People have been trapping lobster for thousands of years. Native American tribes along the New England coast wove traps from wood, vines, and reeds, submerging them in shallow coastal waters. Early European settlers observed these methods and adapted them using materials they had on hand.
By the 1700s, wooden lobster pots became standard throughout Atlantic Canada and New England. These early pots were heavy, bulky, and required significant labor to build and maintain. Fishermen would soak wooden slats in seawater to swell the joints, making the pots watertight enough to hold bait while allowing water to flow through.
The 20th century brought major changes. In the 1950s and 60s, wood gave way to wire. Galvanized steel and later vinyl-coated wire mesh became the standard materials for American lobster traps. These wire traps were lighter, more durable, and far easier to repair than wooden pots. They also caught more lobster because they maintained their shape better and sat more consistently on the ocean floor.
Today, most American lobster fishermen use wire traps with plastic runner bands and coated mesh. But in the UK, Ireland, and parts of Canada, wooden and metal pots are still in active use, especially by smaller inshore operations that value tradition alongside function.
How Lobster Traps and Pots Actually Work
Whether you call it a trap or a pot, the mechanism is the same. The device is a box-like structure with one or more funnel-shaped entrances that lobster can crawl into but have difficulty crawling out of.
Here’s the basic design:
- The frame. Typically rectangular, about 3–4 feet long, made of wire mesh on a metal frame (or wood in traditional pots).
- The heads. Funnel-shaped nets or wire cones that taper inward. Lobsters push through the wide end and can’t easily find their way back out.
- The parlor. A second compartment separated by another funnel. Once the lobster moves from the bait chamber into the parlor, escape is even more difficult.
- The bait bag. A mesh bag filled with herring, mackerel, or other oily fish, tied inside the first chamber.
- The vents. Escape gaps with biodegradable escape panels. These panels rot away if the trap is lost, allowing any trapped lobster to swim free—a key sustainability feature.
- The buoy line. Each trap is connected to a surface buoy so fishermen can locate and haul it back up.
Fishermen typically set strings of traps—anywhere from a few pots on a small inshore boat to hundreds of traps on a larger vessel. Each string is marked with colored buoys that are registered to the fisherman. Hauling is done with a hydraulic trap hauler, one of the most important pieces of equipment on any modern lobster boat.
Key Design Differences by Region
While the basic concept is universal, trap and pot designs vary by region based on local conditions, target species, and tradition.
New England wire traps are lightweight, collapsible, and designed for the rocky, uneven bottom of the Gulf of Maine. They have a flat bottom and rectangular profile that keeps them stable in strong currents. Most are two-chamber designs with a separate parlor section.
UK and Irish pots tend to be heavier and more rounded, often built with a mix of metal rod and synthetic netting. Many retain the traditional circular or D-shaped entrance that’s been used for centuries. In Cornwall and Devon, you’ll still find fishermen using pots with wooden frames and hand-tied netting.
Canadian pots fall somewhere in between. In Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, many fishermen use heavy wire pots that closely resemble American traps, but the terminology remains firmly “pot.” The Maritime tradition ties closely to British fishing heritage, so the language is rooted there even when the gear has modernized.
Down in Florida and the Caribbean, spiny lobster traps (also called “lobster pots” locally) are different again—larger, with bigger openings to accommodate the different shape of spiny lobster, and often made with heavier gauge wire to protect against the tropical sun and currents.
Sustainability and Modern Regulations
Modern lobster traps are carefully regulated to ensure the long-term health of lobster populations. Both traps and pots must include:
- escape vents that let undersized and oversized lobsters exit freely
- biodegradable escape panels made of untreated cotton or iron wire that degrade in seawater, preventing ghost fishing if a trap is lost
- gauge rings that control the minimum mesh size so juvenile lobsters can pass through
These regulations are enforced by state agencies in the US, DFO in Canada, and the MMO and IFCAs in the UK. They’ve been essential in keeping lobster fisheries sustainable for future generations.
In Maine, for example, every trap must have a vent of at least 2 inches by 5-3/4 inches, and each trap must include a biodegradable escape panel of specific dimensions depending on whether it’s a wooden or wire pot. These simple requirements have dramatically reduced bycatch and ghost fishing mortality.
So, Trap or Pot?
At the end of the day, the trap-versus-pot debate is mostly a question of where you’re standing. American fishermen use traps. British and Irish fishermen use pots. Canadians use pots but gear that looks a lot like American traps. The function is identical: a baited cage that catches lobster efficiently and sustainably.
If you’re buying fresh lobster for dinner, it doesn’t matter what the fisherman called the gear. What matters is that it was caught responsibly, handled well, and delivered fresh to your door. But if you find yourself on a dock in Maine or Cornwall, knowing the local term is a good way to sound like you belong there.
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