The wooden lobster trap today has all but disappeared except for decorating seafood restaurants. But not long ago, it was as omnipresent as the wire lobster trap is today. The shift from wood to wire can be traced back to a precise point in time. That point was when Jim Knott Sr. got a patent on a coated wire lobster trap in the 1960s. Before starting Riverdale Mills in Northbridge, Massachusetts, to manufacture the wire needed to build wire traps, Knott ran a plastic coating company. His experience in coatings was linked at some point with time spent as a boy fishing lobster out of a skiff in Gloucester. The first trap was built and then coated. It was the first of its kind for many years.
Read MoreFishermen's Voice
Riverdale Mills Celebrates 35th Anniversary
Northbridge, MA – September 23, 2015 — Riverdale Mills revolutionized the lobster fishing industry when founder James Knott, Sr. created Aquamesh, a first of its kind marine-grade welded wire mesh fabric designed specifically to create a more durable lobster trap for New England lobstermen. Thirty-five years later, over 80% of all lobster traps in the U.S. are built with Aquamesh.