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.
.png)
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!
.png)
Pacific Halibut Season Is Back!
.jpg)
If you’re looking to spot a Pacific Halibut in the wild, you’d have to keep a keen eye on the ocean floor to find this diamond in the rough. And the Pacific Halibut surely has two eyes on you!
With a face that only a mother could love, The Pacific Halibut’s unique appearance is matched by its uniquely delightful flavor. Luckily for us, Pacific Halibut is back in season, and you can try it now at Water Grill.
About The Pacific Halibut
The Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) is the world's largest species of flatfish. This species of right-eyed flounder can weigh up to 500 pounds and grow as long as 8 feet! Those big ones are lovingly called “barn doors”, whereas smaller ones are referred to as “chickens.”
These massive flatfish are groundfish, meaning they live near the ocean floor and prefer water temperatures around 37 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Living near the ocean floor is why they have their unique coloration.
While it’s not likely to betray you, the Pacific Halibut is a particularly two-faced creature. The two sides of this flatfish are composed of a lighter, off-white-colored side on its underside (the side that faces toward the ocean floor) and a darker side on top. The lighter side is meant to look more like the sky from those looking up at it, helping it camouflage into the ocean surface. The greyish-brown darker side has colors that help it blend into the sandy ocean bottom.
Perfectly camouflaged, finding a Pacific Halibut really is finding a diamond in the rough, as its diamond-shaped body is more elongated than most flatfishes, and its caudal fin has a crescent shape to it, which is unique to this particular species of flat fish.
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
If you were to find a Pacific Halibut shortly after it was born, you’d easily mistake it for some other type of fish. They’re born swimming upright and without their iconic one-sided eye placement. It’s as they get older that the Pacific Halibut begins to morph into the form we know and love.
By the time a right-eyed flounder reaches six months old, its left eye has made a journey across its skull to situate itself close to its right-sided partner (although about one in 20,000 halibut are left-sided). Now right-eyed and laying flat, the Pacific Halibut can keep an eye out for potential threats and feed on a diet of small fish, crabs, clams, squid and other bottom-dwelling invertebrates.
Pacific Halibut Season and Fishery Management
Typically, the season for catching Pacific Halibut runs from mid-March through early November, closing right before the spawning season begins. The females typically spawn at depths of 300 to 1,500 ft. When we get a hold of Pacific Halibut, it’s wild-caught by longlines or hook-and-line along the coastal waters of Northern California all the way up to Nome, Alaska – though, most of them are caught in the Gulf of Alaska.
Fishing for the Pacific Halibut is regulated by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council. These agencies set yearly quotas to support a minimum halibut population. The teamwork these agencies have shown in both the United States and Canada has ensured that the Pacific Halibut has not been overfished, but also that its population has seen growth since 2013. Today, nearly 25 million pounds of Pacific Halibut are fished annually.
The commercial fishery for Pacific Halibut began in 1888 off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia. Due to dwindling stocks of the Atlantic Halibut at the time, along with prime access to railroads for shipping, there was an upsurge in vessels in Canada and Alaska fishing for Pacific Halibut to supply the demand from the East Coast. With the rapid growth of the commercial fishery came a decrease in stocks of this fish, ultimately leading to the first known treaty to be introduced for the conservation of an ocean fishery – the Convention for the Preservation of the Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific Ocean in 1923.
Pacific Halibut at Water Grill
At Water Grill, we handpick, cut and exclusively supply the highest quality seafood to our restaurants, leveraging more than 75 years of strong relationships to source from local fishermen and lobstermen.
From off the boats of the local fisherman, around 40 tons of Pacific Halibut passed through King’s Seafood Distribution in 2024, where it is filleted and prepared for our restaurants. We are committed to ensuring the maximum yield of this amazing fish, utilizing all parts in our menu. This includes the tail, collar, fillet, cheeks and even the bones and eyes!
It may come as some surprise to some to see these lesser used parts of a fish on a menu, but parts like the collar and the tail bring out tremendous flavors and contain the most tender and flavorful meat.
Make no mistake, Pacific Halibut is a people and palate pleaser, with a flavor that’s delightfully mild and slightly sweet. It’s a leaner fish, with large white flakes and a firm but tender texture. These flavor characteristics, texture and color come from its sedentary lifestyle, unique diet and relatively cold-water environment where it inhabits.
Depending on availability, we offer several preparations of Pacific Halibut throughout the season at Water Grill, utilizing the whole fish. This includes:
•Pan Seared Halibut entrée with spring peas, fingerlings, braised leeks and lemon velouté
•Pan Roasted Halibut Cheeks appetizer with braised fennel and brown butter lemon sauce
•Miso Marinated Halibut Collar with grilled Okinawan potatoes, pickled bean sprouts and yuzu aioli
•Roasted Halibut Tail tacos with roasted tomato salsa, pickled mango and soft corn tortillas
All this Pacific Halibut talk catch your eye? Check our Water Grill menus for availability and make a reservation today!
