States Fish Commission,Vol. 19, Pages 241-265 details some of these early ventures, as these excerpts reveal: "In 1847 Captain Oakes purchased the smack Josephine, with which he began running to Johnson & Young's establishment, at Boston, in 1848, buying a portion of his lobsters in the Penobscot Bay region, where this fishery had just been started. The quantity of lobsters carried by him that year was 40,000.... Lobsters were so abundant at the Muscle Ridges, at this period, that four men could fully supply Captain Oakes with lobsters every trip. In the course of ten days each man would obtain between 1,200 and 1,500 marketable lobsters. In Captain Oakes' opinion, the Muscle Ridges have furnished the most extensive lobster fishery of the Maine coast. He ran to this locality until 1874." "Capt. S. S. Davis, of South Saint George, states that about 1864, when he first began buying lobsters at the Muscle Ridges, three men, tending 40 to 50 pots each, caught all the count lobsters he could carry to market in his smack. He could load 5,000 lobsters at a time, and averaged a trip in 7 to 9 days. This traffic continued for six or seven years. In 1879, Captain Davis bought from 15 men In the same locality, and at times was obliged to buy also of others in order to make up a load." "The fishery at North Haven began in 1848, but did not increase so rapidly at first as in sections farther west, as the smacks would only take the medium-sized lobsters, fearing that the largest would not be able to stand the trip. At Matinicus Island the fishing began in 1868. In 1852 the people on Deer Island began the fishery, and as the smackmen made frequent visits the business rapidly increased. The establishment of a cannery at Oceanville, about 1860, also caused a considerable development of the fishery. The fishery was started at Isle Au Haute about 1855, and at Swan Island in the early fifties." Penobscot Bay Conservation and Environmental Groups Groups with chief focus on Penobscot Bay or parts thereof. Coastal Mountains Land Trust Friends of Harriet L. Hartley Conservation Area Penobscot Bay Watch Friends of Sears Island Islesboro Islands Trust Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries Upstream Watch Islands in Penobscot Bay Isle au Haut Islesboro North Haven Vinalhaven Matinicus Isle Criehaven Sears Island Great Spruce Head Nautilus Island Little