Monhegan waters have been considered a conservation zone since the early 1900s. In the 1920s Monhegan lobstermen did not fish year-round, or in the summer like the rest of the state, but set their traps in the early winter and removed them from the water in the spring.

Fred Osgood and Earl Field, Jr. led the way in a dory loaded with traps ready for the first set of the season. Earl Field, Sr. sculled to Fish Beach in his skiff while Chris Nicholson filled his skiff with traps.