Western Australian Cooked Rock Lobster FROZEN

The western rock lobster is one of the family of ‘spiny’ lobsters, colourful and protected by a strong carapace. They are sometimes called ‘crayfish’ or ‘crays’. Its scientific name is Panulirus cygnus. The species is the target of WA’s largest and most valuable fishery. A crucial element in predicting catches is an annual sampling program that looks at the abundance of late larval-stage lobsters (puerulus) settling on inshore reefs along the west coast between August and January each year. This puerulus settlement index has always shown a strong correlation with catches of lobsters three and four years later.
The spiny lobster family gets its name from two big rostral spines and hundreds of tiny forward-pointing spines covering the carapace. Their long antennae are used for  navigation, self-defence and communicating.
They can live for more than 20 years and grow to weigh 5 kg. But due to fishing rules, fishers rarely catch animals heavier than 3 kg.
When temperatures are cooler they mature at six to seven years old, when their carapace reaches a length of about 90 mm. In warmer water they mature at smaller sizes, usually at about 70 mm.