BOURNE – His name is Maurice, and he is a lobster. He was christened “Maurice” by a couple of guys named Smith and Jones.
John Smith and Maurice The Lobster make dinner plans.
“He’s invited to dinner,” said John Smith, of Bourne, who was pulling lobster traps from the Cape Cod Canal at slack tide on Sunday morning with his neighbors, Kevin Jones and man named David. They were near the Bourne Bridge.
Smith said he has nine traps near the Bourne Bridge, which he chose because of the parking and easy access. He has been lobstering since 1980, he said. He used to go by himself, but now that he is 60, he brings along a couple of neighbors to help, he said.
Jones said he has his own license and traps, but he is now just learning from Smith. “I’m an apprentice,” said Jones.
Smith said he put his traps in the Canal in April. The season is just getting started. In the last week, he said, he got five keepers but had to throw eight or nine back. “They were eggers,” he said, meaning they were females with eggs.
He has a recreational license. “It’s illegal to sell the lobsters,” he said. He gives them away, including to his friends who help out. “We do it together,” said Smith. “I just do it for the fun of it.”
Maurice had no comment.
– Brian Tarcy
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