Until the beginning of the 1800s, lobster was considered as food for the poor, for prisoners and for servants. Lobster had such a bad reputation that it was used as fertiliser in farming. Interest in lobster began around 1820. Big cities like New York and Boston in the U.S. were asking for more and more for consumption.

True lobster fishing began around the 1850s in Maine in the United States and also in Canada. In Canada, lobster fishing was conducted on a small scale until the 1870s. From that moment on, the number of fishermen and the quantity of lobsters caught increased rapidly. Today, lobster is a highly valued commercial species.
 

 
Lobster fishing is conducted with baited traps, usually with the use of dead fish (mackerel, herring or flounder). The lobster is attracted by the fish odour and enters the trap. The trap is designed so that lobsters of commercial size cannot get out. Traps are attached one to the other and are placed on the bottom of the sea for a minimum of 24 hours before being hauled back. Lobsters are recovered and their claws are kept closed using rubber bands. The traps are baited again and placed in the water for another 24 hours.