Oman Lobster Tails
Oman Lobster Tails
by Robert Landy
In the USA, what we commonly refer to as Oman Lobster Tails are actually processed in the United Arab Emirates ( U.A.E. ).
These lobsters are caught in FAO area # 51 - Arabian Sea. The countries that are in this fishing area are Oman, Yemen, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, India, etc .
Species & Catching method
The primary lobster Species caught is the Panulirus Homarus. It is a small lobster; average body length is 20-25cm. The majority of the lobster tails fall within the 2oz to 5oz sizes.
The lobsters are caught by netting, diving and/or traps depending on the country/region. In Oman & Somalia they are caught by nets and diving. In Yemen they also use traps. In India it’s mostly diving with some use of traps and nets in Mumbai.
Processing
The processing plants receive primarily frozen whole lobster or tails. They defrost the lobster, then clean and separate the lobster tails by quality. The lobster tails are then dipped into a Meta- Bisulphate solution. They limit the amount of this chemical on the finished product to 100 parts per million. The lobster tails are then individually wrapped, then frozen in a blast freezer on metal trays. After frozen, they are graded by size + - 1/2oz tolerance. For instance, a 5oz tail will be 4.5oz to 5.5oz. They are then packed in 10lb boxes, 4 boxes per master case.
Seasonality
The lobster season is divided into 2 parts:
The first season usually starts in September and ends in December. The second season resumes in Mid Feb and ends in May. During the first season, sizes are mainly in the 3-7oz range and during the second season, the sizes are predominantly in the 1-3oz range.
