{"id":471295,"date":"2025-10-10T12:42:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T19:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/?p=471295"},"modified":"2025-10-10T12:44:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T19:44:49","slug":"why-california-spiny-lobster-prices-are-set-the-way-they-are-what-most-consumers-dont-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/why-california-spiny-lobster-prices-are-set-the-way-they-are-what-most-consumers-dont-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Why California Spiny Lobster Prices Are Set the Way They Are \u2014 What Most Consumers Don\u2019t Know"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\udd9e LOBSTER FAQS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u2753 But I thought lobsters were going for $8\/lb to consumer?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Wrong!<\/strong> The California Spiny Lobster COMMERCIAL Fishing season<\/strong> opened on Wednesday, October 1st with a price of $7 – $10\/lb from fishermen to wholesalers<\/strong>.
We have not paid lower than $9.00\/lb<\/strong> to our fishermen and have the landing receipts with the Dept of Fish and Wildlife<\/strong> to prove it! \ud83d\udcdc\ud83e\uddfe<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfe2 What is a lobster wholesaler?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Good question!<\/strong> Lobster wholesalers are companies (like Catalina) that go to the docks or have lobster delivered from local fishermen to us.
We sell direct to other seafood companies both locally and globally \ud83c\udf0d.
Luckily for our customers, we also just so happen to have a retail market<\/strong> that sells straight to the consumer! \ud83d\uded2\ud83d\udc68\u200d\ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83d\udc67\u200d\ud83d\udc66<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udeab\ud83e\udd9e WAIT! I thought China wasn\u2019t buying lobsters this year?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Incorrect!<\/strong> The market opened much lower due to Australia selling to China after 6 years of a trade disagreement.
Australia started selling lobsters to China in December of 2024<\/strong>, so we have been planning for this all year.
We have a solid relationship with our broker and our buyers in China and are thrilled<\/strong> they are still choosing to buy from Catalina. \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf3\ud83e\udd1d\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8
We also have a 20% tariff<\/strong> that gets passed to us \u2014 which Australia and Mexico (our 2 biggest export competitors) don\u2019t have<\/strong> \u2014 but we continue to sell and at least break even<\/strong> on our overhead costs \ud83d\udcb8.
This week alone, Catalina Offshore shipped 2,500 lbs<\/strong> of lobsters to China \u2708\ufe0f\ud83d\udce6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcb0 What are the overhead expenses for lobster season?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udd27 Basic Requirements:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lobsters require a special kind of attention. Upon arrival, all lobsters are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Measured<\/strong>,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Sorted<\/strong> for strength, missing legs, and overall health \ud83e\udd9e\ud83d\udcaa<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Then placed in live tanks<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Live tanks require daily chemical checks<\/strong> like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Salinity \ud83c\udf0a<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Nitrates<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Nitrites<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Ammonia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      This is done by Dillan Strangman<\/strong>, a UCSD graduate<\/strong> with a major in Biomechanical Engineering<\/strong> \ud83e\uddea\ud83c\udf93.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/div>\n\n\n\n

      \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf3 China Shipping \u2013 Overhead of $5\u2013$10\/lb<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Once all levels are measured, we decide which tank to ship from to both Mainland China<\/strong> and Hong Kong<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Lobster pack-outs require 24\u201348 hours of preplanning<\/strong>, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Health certificates \ud83e\uddfe<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Proof of LEGAL purchase with CA Dept of Fish and Wildlife<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Box prepping \ud83d\udce6<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Broker communication<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Buyer approval<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Then comes the crazy part<\/strong>, the pack out!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • We drop tank temperature to make lobsters sleepy \ud83d\ude34<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • A crew of 8\u201310 people<\/strong> pulls, sorts, tallies, packages, ices, and stacks the lobsters<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • The driver heads off on a 6-hour roundtrip<\/strong> to LAX<\/strong> \ud83d\ude9a\u2708\ufe0f<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          <\/div>\n\n\n\n

          \ud83d\ude9b Local delivery, wholesale and retail \u2013 Overhead of $3\u2013$10\/lb<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          We market our lobsters to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Local restaurants \ud83c\udf7d\ufe0f<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Other wholesalers<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Direct retail customers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            Preferred shipping:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • Plane<\/strong> \u2708\ufe0f<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Also by truck<\/strong> locally and up the coast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Shipping includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              • Specialty styro boxes<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Excelsior<\/strong>, ice packaging<\/strong>, labeling<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Plus a crew to pack out! \ud83d\udce6\ud83e\uddca\ud83e\uddd1\u200d\ud83d\udd27<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                Our favorite sale<\/strong> is through the retail market<\/strong>, where we can get lobsters in front of the general public<\/strong> who may not know all the ins and outs of California Spiny\u2019s \ud83e\udd9e\ud83c\udfea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                <\/div>\n\n\n\n

                \ud83e\uddfe\ud83d\udcb8 If it costs so much overhead then how will you make money this season?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                We probably won\u2019t!<\/strong> That\u2019s just business for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Our goal is to continue to buy from our fishermen<\/strong> so they can support their families<\/strong> and we can support ours<\/strong> \ud83d\udc68\u200d\ud83d\udc69\u200d\ud83d\udc67\u200d\ud83d\udc66.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Failure isn\u2019t an option.<\/strong> The families behind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n
                • Catalina Offshore<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • San Diego Seafood<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                • QS Beef<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  \u2026have over 50 families relying on us<\/strong> to stay in business through the toughest times \ud83d\ude4f.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  <\/div>\n\n\n\n

                  We appreciate the community<\/strong> and our ongoing customers<\/strong> who continue to buy! \ud83d\udc99<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  <\/div>\n\n\n\n

                  \u2764\ufe0f Much appreciation and love,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  The Strangman Family<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  \ud83e\udd9e LOBSTER FAQS \u2753 But I thought lobsters were going for $8\/lb to consumer? Wrong! The California Spiny Lobster COMMERCIAL Fishing season opened on Wednesday, October 1st with a price of $7 – $10\/lb from fishermen to wholesalers.We have not paid lower than $9.00\/lb to our fishermen and have the landing receipts with the Dept […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27833,"featured_media":471297,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,35],"tags":[42,101,100,46],"class_list":["post-471295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dock-to-dish","category-in-the-news","tag-catalina-offshore-products","tag-lobster-season","tag-lobsters","tag-seafood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27833"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471295"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":471301,"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471295\/revisions\/471301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalinaop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}