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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Wild Santa Barbara Spot Prawn Season
Shrimp are found all over the world. From saltwater to freshwater, wild, farmed and frozen. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. The list goes on.
Prawns are generally found in freshwater environments.
Spot prawns; however, are not prawns. The Spot Prawn (Pandalus platyceros) is found exclusively in the Pacific Ocean, from the Gulf of Alaska down to Northern Baja California. Named after the paired spots located just behind the head, our California Spot Prawns hail from the Southern California Bight (a 430-mile stretch of curved coast from Point Conception, Calif. to Punta Colonet, Baja California Sur, Mexico), with main ports of entry at Santa Barbara, San Pedro and San Diego.
These shrimps are big, too. The largest in the Pacific, in fact. They can grow upwards of 12 inches (30.5 cm) but most are around 4 to 10 inches (12-27 cm) in length.
It’s in California where spot prawns were initially discovered in the 1930s, hanging out in octopus traps off the coast of Monterey. Today, they’re caught in pot traps to ensure careful handling and effective fisheries management (shoutout to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife).
Spot prawns dwell deep, inhabiting depths of 600 feet to 1,500 feet on soft and rocky bottoms.
LIFE CYCLE
The average life span for a spot prawn is around six years. It’s around year four or five when something magical happens: spot prawns start transitioning from male to female. Spot prawns start life as males, then they join the other team after their first spawn as males. They’re a true example of a hermaphrodite in the natural world, a protrandric hermaphrodite, if you want to get the scientific term spot-on.
Spot prawns spawn once a year, with each individual spot prawn mating once as a male and once or twice as a female. This typically occurs from October through January. That’s the reason spot prawn season is closed during that time.
UNBEATABLE FLAVOR
Spot prawns are a rarity and a delicacy. Careful handling is critical, as they must be enjoyed immediately after they decease. (There’s an enzyme in them that instantly begins decomposing the muscular structure, leading to a “mushy” texture when cooked if not handled properly.)
As finding and preparing spot prawns can be a little, well, spotty, it goes without saying that the best way to enjoy them is fresh from the water. At Water Grill, we fill our saltwater tanks with live spot prawns and prepare them to order, where you can get them as a tempura-fried Nigiri or as a Panca Tare-Marinated entrée.
Spot prawns are delicate and delicious. We may refer to them as delicate, but the firm texture makes them sweet and gives a “pop” of flavor every time you take a bite.
AT A GLANCE:
