Miss Samantha Lobster Fishing & Seal Watch Cruises

02/08/2023

🦞Hello everyone!🦭

Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co will no longer be monitoring and updating this page.
For updates on our cruises please follow Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company!

04/22/2021

We are excited to announce that we will begin trips May 14th!
10:30 AM & 1:45 PM
Book here!
https://www.barharborwhales.com/

09/13/2019

Something 𝐁𝐈𝐆 is being caught on the Miss Samantha! This large (but still just right) male lobster was pulled up in a trap the other day. That same day we also caught a large female lobster that had a V-notch and had to be returned.
Come check out what else we can catch on our 1:45 or 3:45 tour!

08/19/2019

What can you do?

07/30/2019

"Summer is traditionally peak lobster season because it's the time when they migrate closer to shore. Up and down the coast, they were and are valued by Indigenous peoples."

07/25/2019

Port and Starboard? Left and Right? Who knows??
Early boats didnt have rudders going down their centerlines like they do today but instead had a steering oar that went out the right side of of the boat (since most people are right handed). This created the old english name of steorbord meaning steering side of the boat. This also meant you couldnt come into port on your steorbord side because of those oars but instead to come in on your port side. Today mariners still use these terms of starboard (right) and port (left) to tell which side of the boat you should be on.

07/02/2019

Need something fun to do with the kids this fourth? Come out on the Miss Samantha! Learn about Lobstering and watch Seals in their natural habitat! Check out the pictures below of the many sea critters we have in our touch tank right now!
Note: These creatures due to our educational license will go back to their ocean world in a few days

06/29/2019

We have Lobster Farmers but do we have Lobster Farms? No we don't! Maine Lobster come directly from the ocean no farms involved! Lobster farming is not a profitable business because of the amount of food lobsters will consume to grow!

06/16/2019

Happy Fathers Day from the berried females on the Miss Samantha!
Both of these pregnant lobsters were caught today Naturalist Lindsay notched their tails and returned them to the ocean.

06/09/2019

Naturalist Anna was pretty excited about the sculpin caught in one of our traps!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Byd9AqQAeDF/?igshid=490801wfrss5

06/05/2019

Congratulations to this weeks winners of MissSamKissCam! These two winners were able to enjoy the coastline of Acadia, some cool mansions, and the Bald Eagles of Frenchmans Bay!

05/30/2019

Check out what we caught the other day. This ‘berried female’ was bursting with eggs. She will carry these eggs for 9 to 12 months then release them into the water column.
We V-notched her tail and returned her to the ocean.

05/20/2019

While we wait for those Whale and Puffin tours to start we have fun with those crabs 🦀❤️

05/17/2019

To be a Naturalist here you need to shadow a lot of tours first and then do one tour by yourself under the watchful eye of the boss. We are proud to announce that our new Naturalist Lindsey has passed with flying colors! Check her out on upcoming tours!

12/25/2018

Warm wishes for a Happy Holiday!!!

10/24/2018

Whoa check out what the fish market found in Portland Maine!

10/14/2018

This interesting little creature came up in our trap looking like a blob. Seeing that is was a living blob Captain and I decided to put it in some water and see what would happen. Turns out this little blob is known as a Nudibranch also known as a sea slug. Nudibranchs can come in all sorts of bright colors, the brighter the color the more poisonous they are. Luckily this one was not poisonous and was willing to put on a good show for us in the touch tank.

10/09/2018

People always ask me 'what is the biggest lobster you have ever caught?' I usually respond with that I haven't been doing this job for too long so not too big. On Sunday that all changed as we hauled on board this monster of a lobster. This guy was only a centimeter under that 5 inches that would deem him too big to keep. After we took some photos of him we did return him to the sea.

10/03/2018

We caught a couple of dollars on the Miss Samantha the other day... Sand Dollars that is!
Sand Dollars are a type of flattened sea urchin that lives on the ocean floor. They use coordinated movements of their soft spines to help them move around. These sand dollars came into our trap to feed on the scraps of fish from the bait bag.

09/25/2018

Yesterday we caught a very vulnerable lobster on the Miss Samantha, this lobster 20 minutes before we hauled up the trap decided he was in a safe space to shed its shell. Lobsters will shed their shells during the summer months becoming a soft shelled lobster. After shedding its shell the lobster will still be very vulnerable without its protective exoskeleton for another few hours.
We gently returned this vulnerable lobster back to the ocean for him to find a new place to hide.
Check out the perfect shell that was left behind. The second claw we believe the lobster already had consumed.

09/21/2018

Things have gone from the fishy to the odd on the Miss Samantha as we hauled up this little fella. Surprisingly all his claws were functional as he was quite feisty in wanting to grab us. Lucky for him he was too small to be kept and was tossed back overboard to continue on with his three-clawed life.

09/20/2018

Things are getting fishy on the Miss Samantha!
This Sea Raven (in the Sculpins Family) and Lookdown fish (in the Moonfish Family) swam into our lobster traps to enjoy a meal with their lobster friends.
Both fish have been returned to their ocean homes.

09/10/2018

Sea Cucumbers unlike the plant you find in your garden are echinoderms closely related to star fish. These odd looking creatures are the oceans earth worm cleaning up any discarded matter and giving back clean sand in the end. By doing this sea cucumbers are helping to prevent deadly algae blooms in the ocean. Sea Cucumbers are in high demand as a delicacy in China. Sadly their population cannot meet this demand and still be productive in the ocean. One day our oceans may suffer because of this.

09/06/2018

Explore Bar Harbor Whale Watch/Allied Whale's photos on Flickr. Bar Harbor Whale Watch/Allied Whale has uploaded 22417 photos to Flickr.

08/31/2018

Barnacles are shrimp like crustaceans that can be found on any hard surfcace in the ocean like rocks, docks, or this crabs back. Check out their bristle-covered legs as they open their mouths to collect any passing plankton.
Join us on the Miss Samantha to learn more about the crustaceans in the ocean!

08/30/2018

Less than 40 miles South in Stonington Maine a lobsterman caught this iridescent white lobster! With a 1 in one hundred million chance of catching this white lobster this lobsterman is very lucky. This lobsters has been returned back to the ocean.

We've seen our fair share of rare lobsters this year, but a rare iridescent, white lobster -- a 1-in-100-million find -- was recently caught off the Maine coast.

08/27/2018

Drive through Bald Eagle Style. This adult and juvenile Bald Eagle were trying out their hunting skills at Egg Rock yesterday.

08/24/2018

'Too big, too small, or just right?' Here in Maine we must follow the lobstering rules that say we cannot take a lobster smaller than 3"1/4 and we cannot take a lobster bigger than 5". We can only take that just right size somewhere between 3"1/4 to 5".
Surprisingly both of these lobsters are that just right size!

08/21/2018

Jellyfish can be a common sight when exploring along the coast of Maine. Usually ones the size of a baseball are spotted in the water floating around or washed up on the beach. Some paddle boarders were surprised when they spotted a a 3 foot long Lions Mane Jellyfish swimming along side them in the harbor here.
How would you feel seeing this swimming along side the Miss Samantha?

08/16/2018

Lobsters and Seals are not the only critters we are seeing on the Miss Samantha. The other week we hauled up a Lump Fish and a few days ago we hauled these two baby Sea Stars, a Daisy Brittle Sea Star, and a Common Sea Star.
-Lump Fish despite their odd appearance are very unique with suction cups on their bellies allowing them to attach to seaweed for a rest. They come in many different colors including yellow, brown, or blue like this one.
-Daisy Brittle Sea Star received their name because of their fragile nature, they are easily harmed when handled. When handled correctly you can feel them moving along your hand with their strong tube feet.
Join a Miss Samantha tour to see what else we might find!