Southern Rock Lobster vs Imported Lobster — Country of Origin

Side-by-side

Australia

Southern Rock Lobster

Tas, SA, Vic

🇦🇺 Local

Protein (per 100g)20.5g

Selenium (per 100g)75µg

Wild vs. FarmedWild-caught (pots)

Quota ManagementStock-status assessed

Live Trade StandardsWorld-leading

Bycatch RateVery low (pot fishery)

Price per kg~$120

Overall rating: Southern Rock Lobster scores 9.3/10 — premium wild-caught quality with sustainable pot-fishery management.

N. America / Caribbean

Imported Lobster

Canada / USA / Cuba

Protein (per 100g)18.9g

Selenium (per 100g)55µg

Wild vs. FarmedWild-caught

Quota ManagementVariable

Live Trade StandardsVariable

Bycatch RateVariable

Price per kg~$70

Overall rating: Imported lobster scores 6.5/10 — freshness varies, especially for frozen or long-haul live shipments.

Nutrition (per 100g)

How Southern Rock Lobster compares to imported equivalents on key nutrients.

Protein20.5g18.9g

Selenium75µg55µg

Vitamin B121.4µg1µg

Zinc3.5mg2.8mg

Copper1.6mg1.2mg

Price context

Why is the imported product cheaper?

Imported lobster (US, Canada, NZ) is cheaper at scale; Australian Eastern and Southern rock lobster is premium, MSC-aligned and largely exported.

By the numbers

Carbon footprint

AUS8 kg

Imported18 kg

kg CO₂e per kg

Live air-freighted lobster is high-carbon regardless of origin.

Source: ICCT air-freight emissions

Australian jobs supportededitorial

AUS9 Australian

Imported0 Australian

Australian FTE per tonne

Source: Country of Origin — Australian FTE-per-tonne estimate

Freshness — harvest to retaileditorial

AUS3 days

Imported14 days

days pot-to-plate (live)

Source: Country of Origin — freshness day estimates

Quality & integrity

Welfare & ethics

Australia: Pot-caught; live transport in oxygenated tanks

Imported: Mostly trap-caught; mixed conditions

Mislabelling risk

Australia: Very low

Imported: Low

Traceability

Australia: Tag-to-plate; quota documented

Imported: Variable

Bottom line

Bottom line

Australian rock lobster is world-leading on stock management; imports are cheaper but rarely live-handled to Australian standards.

Sources

Sources cited on this page

Western Australia Rock Lobster — first fishery certified — Marine Stewardship Council, 2000
MSC certified Australian fisheries — Marine Stewardship Council, 2024
CO₂ emissions from commercial aviation 2023 — International Council on Clean Transportation, 2023

Read the full Southern Rock Lobster profile →