Spiny lobster | crustacean (2024)

FAQs

Are spiny lobsters good to eat? ›

Available from October–March, these special lobsters are an all-time favorite for seafood lovers. The Spiny Lobster has a sweeter flavor profile than its counterpart, the Maine Lobster. It also has more meat — generally around 25% more per pound.

That doesn't mean the Spiny lobster is bad. In fact, when prepared in certain ways, it's really good. It is just not as good as Maine lobster. Spiny lobsters have very little meat and are smaller than Northern lobsters.

But the California spiny lobster fishery, started in Santa Barbara, has been around almost as long-- since 1874. The answer, at least in part, may lie in the fact that up to 95% of California's modern catch has been exported to China where lobster lovers are willing to pay up to $30 US dollars per pound.

Commonly referred to as the Florida spiny lobster, the Caribbean spiny lobster inhabits tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Spiny lobsters get their name from the forward-pointing spines that cover their bodies to help protect them from predators.

While warm water lobsters have their own unique qualities and are enjoyed by locals in various regions, Maine lobsters remain unrivaled in their size, meatiness, and flavor. Their cold-water environment gives them a distinctive taste and texture that has made them a beloved delicacy around the world.

If you are lucky enough to get a whole spiny lobster, you can use the meat in a variety of recipes—from lobster Thermidor and lobster salad to a lobster sauce for pasta.

Tropical rock lobsters, or pearl lobsters, as they're better known, are one of the rarest and most expensive lobster varieties. The colorful crustaceans are so valuable that there have even been international smuggling attempts of its larvae.

Maine, United States

Whether you prefer your lobster steamed or boiled, Maine is the place to be for the freshest and most delicious lobster you'll ever taste.

The world's largest recorded lobster was a 44-pounder (20-kg) caught off Nova Scotia in 1977, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Maine lobstermen hauled in a record 100 million pounds (45.4 tonnes) of lobsters last year, due in part to overfishing of predators such as haddock, cod and monkfish.

White – the rarest of all – at 1-in-100 million. Science tells us that blue lobsters are not just uncommon, but are in fact mutants. This is the result of a genetic mutation that causes the blue color.

What are 4 facts about spiny lobsters? ›

Spiny lobsters are nocturnal and emerge from their hiding spots during the night to forage on their favorite foods including crabs, clams, and other invertebrates. Spiny lobsters reproduce in spring and summer. Females carry bright orange eggs on the underside of the tail. Spiny lobsters have two large antennae.

Bluefin tuna is known for being the most expensive seafood in the world.

Unlike true lobsters, spiny lobsters (Palinuridae), so called because of their very spiny bodies, do not have large claws. People eat the abdomen, which is marketed as lobster tail. The antennae are long. Most species live in tropical waters; Palinurus elephas, however, is found from Great Britain to…

They are nocturnal, inhabiting coral reefs, burrows, and dens during the day and foraging for food at night. Many predators feed on juvenile and adult spiny lobster, including groupers, snappers, sharks, skates, turtles, and octopuses.