V-Notching Regulations

What is V-Notching?

A “v-notch” is a mark on the tail flipper of a female lobster that was put there by commercial lobstermen as a means to identify and protect known “breeders” in the population from harvest.

Commercial lobstermen make a v-notch in the tail flippers of egg-bearing female lobsters they encounter while fishing. The v-notch remains in the females flipper after she has hatched her eggs which protects her from harvest through additional molts.

V-Notching History

The practice of v-notching originated in Maine, and dates back to the early 1900’s.

Today it is intended as a means of protecting local “broodstock”.

Which Flipper is Notched?

The tail flipper immediately to the right of the middle flipper, when the lobster is examined with the underside of the lobster down and its tail is toward the person making the determination.

Recreational Lobster/Crab Permit holders are not required to v-notch egg-bearing female lobsters.

Mutilation

It is illegal to possess any female lobster in which the v-notch flipper is mutilated in a manner which could hide, obscure, or obliterate such a mark