The Island Institute introduced its Lobster Kiosk to the public on October 15, with a new lobby exhibit entitled “The Lobster and the Mouse: Tradition and Technology in Maine Fisheries.”

By means of a touch-screen monitor and dynamic content, the kiosk depicts the collaborative relationship between fishermen and scientists, fishing and technology. The project utilizes video, audio, text and still images to tell a story about those relationships as one result of the five-year-old Penobscot Bay Collaborative. It is intended for a broad audience of people who live in and travel through Maine.

Project components — Introduction, History, Life Cycle, Currents, Habitat and Conservation – are invariably linked to each other. They can be viewed autonomously or in sequence at the discretion of the viewer.

Introduction” initially defines the geographical area, using satellite imagery, presented regionally as the Gulf of Maine and locally as Penobscot Bay. The bay area has been experiencing an economic boom in the lobster fishing industry and dynamic graph of lobster landings over 50 years provides the numbers to confirm it. A background of the hands-on application of technology by local fisherman and summary of the groups studying and funding this effort is presented with a testimonial of the industry.

“History” provides a background of the fishing industry from the introduction of the well smack in the 1840s through the post-Civil War canneries and early conservation efforts including the move to more regulated standards and enforcement of the same by the State Commissioner, Mr. Crie. Historical footage is presented in video form.

“Life Cycle” presents an overview of a complete life cycle of a lobster, from an egg about one millimeter in diameter through its periods of growth to adulthood. A very distinct video and audio presentation walks the viewing audience through four comprehensive life stages: Reproductive, Larval, Post-Larval and Juvenile as lobsters mature to adulthood to ultimately begin the cycle anew.

In “Currents,” satellite images provide insight into the relationship of sea-surface temperatures and ocean currents. Using Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) imagery, an animation shows the movement of the Eastern Maine Coastal Current and its importance to lobster larval transport. An overlying narration describes how these changes affect distribution and abundance of adult lobsters in Penobscot Bay.

Opening “Habitat” is an eye-catching visual of a wolfish attacking and eating a lobster that highlights the vulnerability of lobsters during their maturation process and their dependence on environmental surroundings for their continued development. A montage of lobsters in several native habitats — boulder, cobble, mud, sand and seaweed — provides a first-hand look at where lobsters live.

“Conservation” explores why the lobster industry is so fertile in Penobscot Bay and the conservation efforts, both regulated and voluntary, practiced by fisherman in Maine. A slide show format illustrates the effort to ensure that the productive breeding population is nurtured through practices such as v-notching egg-laying female lobsters.

This project has been funded by NOAA/NESDIS, and developed at the Island Institute. The first self-contained work station will reside in the lobby of the Institute as part of the exhibit through the winter months and be reintroduced in late spring 2002.

“We will be listening for feedback from the public as a guide for making a better product. There are always improvements that an objective eye can suggest.” In the spring, a second kiosk will be placed at another location in Maine.