The V-notching process was big in Maine before it became apparent in the eastern Canada area. It's practised in many different areas in many different forms. We started it very early on. We've gone to a maximum size, because we felt that the possibility of injury to the lobster becomes greater every time you cut the pleopods or the tail flippers, depending on how it's done, and on whether it's done properly. How far in you make the incision, because you're causing an open wound, is something that some fishermen worry about.
Also, the control you have over whether it's a natural notch, whether it's a V-notch made by a fishermen, and whether it's on one side or the other, became problematic. So some areas went away from it and went to maximum size, for both female and male lobsters. With the V-notching, in most cases you're only protecting the females.