California Spiny Lobster Season Returns
There’s a season we celebrate every year, symbolized by an icon cloaked in red who brings joy to seafood lovers on the West Coast. No, it’s not Santa Claus. In fact, there are no claws at all. When the calendar pages turn to October, it signals the start of California Spiny Lobster season!
Get ready to throw on a buoy bib and dig into this uniquely Californian delicacy!
What is a Spiny Lobster?
Part of the Palinuridae family, Spiny Lobsters get their name from the forward-pointing spines that cover their bodies to protect them from predators. While that’s one point of visual distinction, you can also tell them apart from their North American Hardshell counterparts by the lack of front claws, their powerful tails and long, spiky antennae.
Also referred to as Rock Lobster, Spiny Lobsters can be found in warmer seas around the world. In the waters of the Bahamas, New Zealand and South Africa, you can find them under the name Crawfish or Crayfish – a name typically reserved for Freshwater Crawfish in the United States.
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Don’t let the lack of front claws fool you or deter you – the meat yield of the Spiny Lobster, or “bugs” as they’re affectionately called, is generally about 25% more per pound compared to a North American Hardshell Lobster.
Without front claws as a defense mechanism, Spiny Lobsters will use their powerful tails and strong spines as a means of defense against sheepshead, black seabass, sea otters and octopuses. It’s from this muscular section where most of the meat is found.
Spiny Lobsters are also predators themselves. As nocturnal scavengers, they come out of their dens to forage in the rocky areas where they reside to feed on mussels, sea urchin, small fish and sometimes other lobsters.
California Spiny Lobster Season
The season for California Spiny Lobster typically runs from October through March. And, of the spiny lobsters caught in California, as little as 10% stay in the United States. It's a unique treat and Water Grill is pleased to be one of the only places where California Spiny Lobster is on the menu during the season.
Management over the fisheries of California Spiny Lobsters is overseen by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which sets strict daily catch and permit issuance numbers during the season.
Enforcement most often occurs through managing the size of the lobsters that are caught. All lobsters, both commercially and recreationally caught, must be of legal size, which is defined by the lobster having a carapace (or top outer shell) of 3.5” in length.
Spiny Lobsters will achieve this length when they are about seven to 11 years of age. This allows them to reproduce at least once in their lifetime, ensuring the continuation of the species.
Typically caught by lobster traps that slowly move into deeper waters as the season progresses, about 80% of the spiny lobsters that are caught measure at one and a quarter to two pounds. Some have been known to reach as much as 20 pounds.
Like their name suggests, California Spiny Lobsters are caught off the coast of California, with a range as far south as Magdalena Bay in Baja California, Mexico, and as far north as Morro Bay, Calif.
California Spiny Lobster on our menus
At Water Grill, you’ll find live, wild California Spiny Lobster swimming in our saltwater tanks. We prepare them to order, finished on the grill and paired with lobster butter and a grilled lemon. Check out our daily menus and catch this Californian delicacy while it’s in season!
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Chilean Sea Bass: The Sea's Greatest Rebrand
It wasn’t that long ago that having Chilean Sea Bass on the menu could get you run out of town. After a history of illegal, unreported and unregulated (also known as IUU) fishing, seeing this fish on a menu in the 90s became frowned upon. Thankfully, times – and practices – have changed. Now, fishing of Chilean Sea Bass is closely managed and certified. In fact, the MSC-certified Chilean Sea Bass is one of the most popular items on the Water Grill menu.
From near-extinction and banishment to craving, this fish has undergone quite the rebrand, but it wasn’t the first time.
HOW THE CHILEAN SEA BASS GOT ITS NAME
The Patagonian Toothfish, or Antarctic Toothfish, was relatively obscure to the world market until 1977, when a seafood wholesaler from Los Angeles, Lee Lantz, “discovered” it off the coast of Chile. There, it was known locally as “bacalao de profundidad” or “cod of the deep” in English. The fish was not very popular (its original name didn’t help) and it was thought to be relatively worthless by many local fishermen. Lantz described it as having a high oil content and white, flaky flesh.
Knowing the U.S. market would be unfamiliar, and partially perturbed, with terms like bacalao or toothfish, Lantz realized it was prime for a rebranding. He dubbed it a sea bass, attaching “Chilean” as an exotic modifier to a familiar-sounding type of American fish. The “new” name wouldn’t be recognized by the FDA until 1994 when it accepted “Chilean Sea Bass” as an “alternative market name” to the Patagonian Toothfish.
A HISTORY OF OVERFISHING
Because of the cold waters it inhabits, the Chilean Sea Bass is a very slow-growing fish, taking them about eight years to reach sexual maturity. However, they can live up to 50 years and reach weights over 250 pounds. Because of its slow-growing nature, and due to its blossomed popularity after its so-called discovery in the late 70s, the Chilean Sea Bass was at risk of being overfished. And it was.
NOAA states that “in 2000, more than 16,000 tons of Chilean Sea Bass were legally harvested in the Antarctic management area. Estimates vary, but there may be up to twice that amount taken illegally.” Although some illegal fishing may still happen, careful management and certification are helping the populations stabilize and restaurants take comfort in the viability and sustainability of the products they serve.
ABOUT THE CHILEAN SEA BASS
The Chilean Sea Bass is a deep lurker, usually being found at depths of 1,000 to 11,000 feet in the cold-water-deep-sea trenches near continental shelves. They will move to shallower waters to feed, with their diet mostly consisting of squid, small fish, shrimp and other crustaceans.
WELL-MANAGED FISHERIES
At Water Grill, we make sure to only feature Chilean Sea Bass that come from a Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified fishery. The MSC is an international organization that is committed to addressing the issues of overfishing throughout the world through fishery certification and seafood labeling. In addition to the MSC certification, all commercial fishing that is done in the immediate areas surrounding Antarctica, such as the Ross Sea, South Georgia Island, Herd Island, and other nearby areas, are managed by the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) Commission and the Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators (COLTO)
HOW WE PREPARE CHILEAN SEA BASS
Chilean Sea Bass has a rich, buttery flavor with dense and moist meat. At Water Grill, we serve MSC-certified Wild Ross Sea Bass seasonally paired with either a cauliflower puree or a butternut squash with sage brown butter. Hungry for more? Head here to check out our menus or make a reservation.
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