Well, I would hope that the people trying to do the catching would see the mistake. There is a certain free-market component to this equation. Foxes and rabbits type. If they come close to wiping out the lobsters, they will stop fishing for them, and then the lobsters will return.
Hopefully, not with a vengeance!
I think the lobsterman in their boats just don’t see what’s going on down below like the divers do. They want simple, tough, zero maint. traps. And they have them! So zero maint that they’ll keep killing for years after the float and rope are gone.
These lobstermen are so stupid they are competing against 3 or 4 old lost traps for every one they have with a rope and a float. It used to piss me off so much, I’d sabotage them all, by cutting the ropes and opening the doors and tying them back.
For every trap with a float, it’s just a matter of time until the rope frays from UV and breaks, or is cut by a boat prop. Then, the traps become perpetual killing machines, for NOTHING.