The Poor Crustacean Cousin

I still find myself thinking I’m back in South Australia whenever I come across the European spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas), which looks almost identical to the southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii).

Here in Ireland, this beautiful creature is mostly ignored by the fishing industry in favour of the much sought-after European lobster (Homarus gammarus). From a diving perspective, this is great, we see them everywhere. Last night’s dive was no exception with crayfish everywhere.

In Australia, we have no marine clawed lobsters, so instead we place huge commercial and recreational fishing pressure on the southern rock lobster. Divers there regularly catch them, so they’ve become quite flighty and almost never interact, preferring to retreat into deep, inaccessible ledges.

Here, the European spiny lobster seems completely at home out in the open, giving us a wonderful opportunity to observe and interact with them unencumbered.

They might be the poor crustacean cousin, but they certainly seem to have a better life because of it.


#crayfish #critters #diving #europeanspinylobster #palinuruselephas #scuba #spinylobster #underwater #brayhead #portmagee