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Back of Boat is a Western Rock Lobster initiative to ensure the WA community has continuous access and ongoing connection to the Western Rock Lobster fishing industry.

The Western Rock Lobster

Western Rock Lobsters are part of the spiny lobster family which get their name from the hundreds of tiny forward-pointing spines that cover their body and carapace. They have two large antennae protruding from their head which serve as a navigation and communication tool as well as a defence weapon.

Western Rock Lobsters are sometimes mistakenly called ‘crayfish’ or ‘crays’, however they are actually very different. Lobsters live in the marine (ocean) environment however crayfish, like marrons and yabbies, are from freshwater. Additionally, rock lobsters don’t have claws whereas crayfish and ‘true’ lobsters do.

Scientific name:	Panulirus Cygnus
Classification:	Decapod family
Average Size:	70-90mm & 5kg at maturity
Average Lifespan:	15-20 years
Typical Diet:	Coralline algae, detritus (dead and dying marine matter), molluscs and crustaceans
Predators:	Large fish species & octopus
Interesting fact:	Lobsters can regrow legs and antennae lost during scuffles with predators.

The Western Rock Lobster Lifecycle

Explore the 7 stage lifecycle of The Western Rock Lobster with our interactive diagram below.

Western Rock Lobster (Panulirus cygnus) juveniles live on shallow inshore reefs and seagrass meadows, where they grow through a series of moults over 3-4 years.

In late spring, sub-adult lobsters undergo a synchronised moult, changing their normal red shell colour to a creamy white/pale pink. Known as ‘whites’, these lobsters then migrate in large groups at night to spawning grounds in deep water. Their red colour returns a few months later.

Western rock lobster mature at 6-7 years of age. Mating occurs in late winter to spring, where the male attaches a packet of sperm, known as a ‘tarspot’, to the underside of the female between the hind most legs. When females mature, they develop setae on their swimmerettes, known as setose.

Female lobsters develop eggs around September to February. The eggs are fertilised using the tarspot as they are swept backwards and become attached to the sticky setae (fine hairs) on the swimmerettes beneath the tail. Females carrying eggs are known as ‘berried’.

The late stage larvae undergo a moult that resembles minature transparent lobsters known as ‘pueruli’. At this stage they swim up to 60 km across the continental shelf with help from prevailing currents, to settle on inshore habitats. Here they quickly develop red colouration and grow to become juvenile rock lobsters.

The phyllosoma drift offshore and spend 9 to 11 months in the open ocean, generally between 400 and 1,000 km off the Western Australian coast. The larvae grow to 35 mm in a series of moults, changing in size and shape in stages. The majority die, but the survivors are eventually carried by winds and ocean currents back towards the continental shelf.

The eggs hatch in four to eight weeks, depending on water temperature, releasing 1.8 mm long planktonic larvae called ‘phyllosoma’ into the water.

The Western Rock Lobster

Western Rock Lobsters are part of the spiny lobster family which get their name from the hundreds of tiny forward-pointing spines that cover their body and carapace. They have two large antennae protruding from their head which serve as a navigation and communication tool as well as a defence weapon.

Western Rock Lobsters are sometimes mistakenly called ‘crayfish’ or ‘crays’, however they are actually very different. Lobsters live in the marine (ocean) environment however crayfish, like marrons and yabbies, are from freshwater. Additionally, rock lobsters don’t have claws whereas crayfish and ‘true’ lobsters do.

Scientific name:
Panulirus Cygnus

Classification:
Decapod family

Average Size:
70-90mm & 5kg at maturity

Average Lifespan:
15-20years

Typical Diet:
Coralline algae, detritus (dead and dying marine matter), molluscs and crustaceans

Predators:
Large fish species & octopus

Interesting fact:
Lobsters can regrow legs and antennae lost during scuffles with predators.

The Western Rock Lobster Lifecycle

Click the below image to explore the 7 stage lifecycle of The Western Rock Lobster.

The Fishery

The Western Rock Lobster industry is an iconic, world-class fishery that is based on the spiny lobster (Panulirus cygnus) along Western Australia’s coast from North West Cape to Cape Leeuwin.

It is Australia’s most valuable single-species wild capture fishery and has supported coastal communities in WA for generations.

WA’s Western Rock Lobster became the first fishery in the world to be certified as ecologically sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council back in 2000.

There are 700 licence holders and 237 active commercial boats in the western rock lobster fishery which supports coastal communities between Kalbarri and Mandurah.
Fishing businesses are family owned and operated with some now in their 5th generation.
The industry employs around 2000 people directly and indirectly.
The commercial fishery is managed through an annual Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) based on a harvest strategy and annual stock assessments by complex modelling.
Each commercial licensed fisher is allocated a quota of lobster they are permitted to catch within that 12-month season according to how many pots a fisher owns.

About Us

The Western Rock Lobster

The Western Rock Lobster Lifecycle

The Western Rock Lobster

The Western Rock Lobster Lifecycle

The Fishery

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