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Fish Photos & Information

Fish, Crustaceans & Cephalopods

Beche De Mer
(Sea Cucumber)

Also known as Rock Lobster, Red Rock Lobster and Crayfish.

Southern Rock Lobsters are distributed from northern New South Wales, south around Tasmania and across South Australia into Western Australia.

Southern Rock lobsters live in a variety of habitats on the continental shelf, in water from 1 metre to approximately 200 metres deep.

There is no evidence of mass migration of the Southern Rock Lobster, however movements of up to 89 kilometres have been reported, as well as shorter distances from inshore to deeper offshore waters.  In many location rock lobsters show little movement.

Southern Rock Lobsters are carnivorous and eat molluscs, small crustaceans, echinoderms and other benthic invertebrates.

Major predators of both adult and juvenile southern rock lobsters are octopus, gummy sharks, fish such as southern rock cod, flathead, wrasse, morwong, conger eels and rock ling.

Habitat:  Saltwater

Did you know?
Crayfish can crawl forward at a very slow and awkward pace but can swim backwards extremely fast to get away from predators. Their spines point  forwards to make them more streamlined for swimming and harder to grab by  predators.

Information about Southern Rock Lobster:

Southern Rock Lobster (Jasus edwardsii), Known commonly in Tasmania as crayfish, the rock lobster lives in a variety of habitats ranging from shallow rocky inshore pools out to the continental shelf. It varies in colour from the deep reddish purple of shallow water specimens to purple and creamy yellow in deeper offshore waters.

A large female rock lobster can carry up to 400,000 eggs. These ‘berried’ females are totally protected in Tasmanian waters and must be returned to the water immediately.

Cooking Southern Rock Lobster:

Edible Parts  - Flesh is found mainly in the tail. The legs of large rocklobsters also contain flesh.

Carapace can be used for flavouring soups or sauces and in poaching liquids. The mustard ca

Price
Rocklobsters are highly sought after and therefore often highly priced. Price is usually a reflection of available supply, not quality. However, export grade rocklobster is always of high quality and high price.

Rocklobster flesh is firm, with a sweet medium and rich taste; it retains its shape in most styles of cooking.

Poached, baked or barbecued, grilled, steamed, or sliced for sashimi, rock-lobsters make an excellent seafood dish. However, guard against over-cooking or the meat will become tough and leathery. Rocklobsters have excellent presentation potential, so take care not to damage the legs and head.

Traditional sauces to accompany rocklobster are thermidor and New-burg, but suggestions for other complementary tastes abound. Try sweet corn, citrus fruits, chillies, tarragon butter sauces, garlic and white wine, or coconut mild curries, or combine in quenelles and mousselines. Prepare as a bisque or serve in a salad with other seafood, or on its own with fresh green peppercorns and char-grilled pineapple.

If cooking rocklobster in liquid, try a court bouillon instead of water.
 

Grilled Lobster - Our favorite way to prepare lobster, simply grilled and basted with butter.

Broiled Lobster Tails - Lobster with bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, minced parsley, and paprika topping

White Lobster - Canned or fresh boiled lobster in a mustard white sauce, served in scallop shells.

Steamed Lobsters - Lobsters steamed with wine, lemon juice, juniper berries, bay leaves and thyme sprigs

Lobster with Oysters - Chopped lobster and oysters in a white sauce served in the lobster shell.

Crayfish & Crawfish Recipes from How To Cook Fish

Lobster in Ginger Sauce	Shrimp with Lobster Sauce	Boiled Lobster & Scallops	King Crab Cake Stuffed Lobster Tails

Commercial Fishing for Southern Rock Lobster:

The commercial fishery for Southern Rock Lobster is based mainly in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.  The lobsters are caught in wood, cane or steel pots baited with whole fish or fish heads.  Pot chapes vary from beehive to square and rectangular.   The entrance to the pots is on the upper surface.  Pots are set in water up to 200 metres deep on suitable sea beds.  Approximately half the Southern Rock Lobster catch is exported, mainly to Japan, Taiwan and the United States of America.

Tasmania’s rock lobster fishery is managed as a single zone with commercial catch currently harvested from all areas around the State at an annual rate of approximately 1.6 million animals.

Rock lobster processed in Tasmania is exported to the mainland or directly overseas as live, fresh product. Export of live product has increased dramatically since the late 1980s, while exports of cooked product have declined.

In 2006/07, rock lobster was Australia’s top export by value ($463 million) and Hong Kong the top export market. Other primary markets for rock lobster include Japan, the United States, China and Chinese Taipei

The lobster is harvested by skilled fishermen from boats around the entire Tasmanian coastline.

After harvesting, the premium lobster is carefully processed through operations that are meticulously controlled to ensure the very highest standards of health, hygiene and quality, to ensure that product reaches its destination in perfect condition and in line with customers requirements.

The Tasmanian rock lobster fishery has been sustainably managed for over 120 years and has been an important component of the State’s fishing industry for over 150 years. Throughout that time fishermen and their boats needed to be licenced.

From the 1884 fishermen were required to observe a minimum size and to fish only in prescribed seasons with specified gear. Since 1926 the number of traps that could be used from a boat was also limited. Following World War II fishermen began to build bigger boats and use the most modern technology to find and catch lobsters and as a result landings increased.

In 1967 the number of fishing licences was limited to restrain excessive development. However fishing pressure soon increased again as more sophisticated technology was introduced and in 1998 individual transferable quotas were introduced under a total allowable catch, while size limits, limited entry and gear restrictions were also retained. Stocks have already rebuilt under these new regulations and the future of the fishery is very secure.
 

Exporters of Southern Rock Lobster  |  Importers of Southern Rock Lobster  |  Processors of Southern Rock Lobster  | Wholesale Suppliers of Southern Rock Lobster  |  Seafood Agents for Southern Rock Lobster

More links about Southern Rock Lobster and Lobster information:

See Also:  Lobster  |  European Lobster  |  Homarus Lobster  |  Maine Lobster  |  Tropical Lobster  |  Rock Lobster  |  Slipper Lobster  |  Spiny Lobster  |  Western Rock Lobster