The Maine lobster industry was able to usher in an era of conservation that has contributed to its current phase of co-management, now recognized as a worldwide example of cooperative management coupled with record catches. V-notching of reproductive lobsters is the clearest institution that evolved as a result of this change in the ethic and attitudes of the industry. The biophysical nature of the resource is one factor that influenced V-notching. It is easy to tell when lobsters are carrying eggs, and lobster’s tails can be notched to mark them as breeders with minimal harm. Not all CPRs can be so easily distinguished. The culture of the Maine lobster industry during the 1930s and 1940s arguably played the strongest role in the successful adoption of V-notching and adherence to conservation measures. The institutions already in place by harbor gangs, coupled with lobstermen’s individual self-interest and the importance of reputations, supported the changing attitudes of lobstermen as they began to embrace conservation …show more content…
It took a combination of an easily marked resource, a triggering event, cooperation with enforcement agents, and unique pre-existing social conditions for the conservation ethic to catch on. This specificity highlights the importance of changing resource users’ attitudes and values towards conservation when working towards sustainable management of common pool resources and solving collective action dilemmas. As can be seen in Massachusetts and Ireland, it is possible to enact similar management measures, but again, the characteristics of the community carrying them out are the key indicators of success. Management measures such as V-notching also tend to be more successful when they garner support from the base of the industry and then are enveloped into