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 piny
Lobster is the general name given to about four dozen
species of clawless lobster found in all the tropical
and subtropical waters of the world, as well as the
temperate seas of the Southern Hemisphere. While the
production of American lobster and spiny lobster is
similar (annual landings of each average about 80,000
tons), spiny lobsters are a worldwide resource consisting
of dozens of species that are caught in commercial quantities.
Earlier this year, the Marine Stewardship Council certified
the Western Australia Spiny lobster fishery as one of
the first ecologically sustainable fisheries.
The California's commercial lobster industry has enjoyed
a resurgence in recent years. Total commercial landings
last season were 951,518 pounds, The seasonal lobster
harvest has not reached the 900,000 pounds level since
the record harvests of the early 1950s.
Commercial Spiny lobster season opens Wednesday, October
8, and extends to March 17. Southern California lobstermen
set traps marked by a colored bouy to mark the owner
of the traps. The following day the traps are pulled,
and checked for lobster; then either reset in the same
place if the catch was good or moved elsewhere if not.
When alive, the spiny lobster is a beautifully marked
crustacean with yellow, orange, green and blue mottling
over a predominately rust colored body. They may grow
to twenty pounds, but most commonly are between one
and five pounds. The California Spiny Lobster lacks
the large claws of the Atlantic lobster. It more than
makes up for that shortcoming by having a shell covered
with sharp spines, large formidable looking antennae,
and a powerful tail which can be used in defense or
for rapid retreat.
Spiny lobsters must shed their exoskeleton in order
to grow. The lobster splits the old shell in half where
the main body meets the tail, and crawls out, leaving
behind the molted shell in such perfect condition it
can easily be mistaken for a live animal. The range
is from San Luis Obispo, south to Rosalia Bay, Baja,
California.
Most Atlantic caught spiny lobster are frozen raw as
tails to be presented as the ubiquitous and flavorless
lobster tail. While the California Spiny lobster is
nearly always sold fresh, live or cooked. While the
market for live spiny lobster grows larger every year,
a considerable portion of the California catch is cooked
at dockside, iced and shipped fresh to inland fish markets.
When buying cooked lobster be sure the tail is pulled
tightly up underneath the body, this indicates the lobster
was alive when cooked. When buying live lobster, the
livlier the better. The lobster should seem heavy for
it's size and be sure the shell is hard not spongy.
A soft spongy shell is the sign of a lobster which has
recently shed it's shell, this type of lobster will
have a very low percentage of meat to shell.
Compared to the Maine lobster the spiny lobster is much
coarser in texture, but the flavor is exceptionally
sweet and delicious. Fast cooking is essential for tender
results. Boiling, steaming, deepfrying or charcoal grilling
are all recommended.
Live lobster can be split length-wise with a french
knife or quickly killed in boiling water before further
preparation. Everything except the digestive tract and
the feathery gills are edible. Even the green "
tomalley" (liver) and the occasionally found red
roe can be used to enrich a sauce or butter. |
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© 2001 Monterey Fish
Market, Inc. All rights reserved.
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