Midcoast Lens: Crustracean cruise to find appetizing lobster fishing scenes

If one lives near the Maine coast they are bound to see, probably on a daily basis, all manner of scenes related to work on the ocean, and, more specifically, lobster fishing.

From boats with personal names to colorful, self-identifying buoys to sturdy traps, hard-working, blue-collar Maine men and women go out most days to do what they do best — namely, catch perhaps the state’s most popular form of seafood.

With the footbridge as a backdrop, Whistler is moored in Belfast Harbor. Ken Waltz

They do not call Maine the lobster capital of the United States for nothing.

It is said the best lobster in the world comes from cold water, particularly from Maine. The state’s lobsters are prized the world over for their sweet and tender meat. Because Maine has warmer waters than Canada, their lobsters tend to be softer, allowing for more tender meat, and an overall better tasting lobster, according to many.

Wait-n-Sea, front, and another boat moored in Rockport Harbor. Ken Waltz

So, if one heads to the saltwater in Knox, Lincoln and Waldo counties, they are bound to see scenes that represent the lobster fishing industry.

The following are scenes from areas in Knox and Waldo counties with connections to the lobster fishing industry. Places represented are Friendship, Rockland, Rockport, Lincolnville and Belfast, although their are countless other areas, including nooks and crannies, up and down the rugged, rocky coast where lobster fishermen ply their trade.