Freezing Tails and Tossing Bodies

October 28, 2010

Question: Once I arrive home with sport-caught lobster in a measurable condition, am I permitted to freeze the tails and discard the bodies? (Ben W.)

Answer: If you tailed the lobster at home and then froze it, you would be in possession of a lobster in an unmeasurable condition. The law requires you to keep the head attached to the tail until prepared for immediate consumption. By the letter of the law, this applies to lobsters in your freezer at home, too. The likelihood of someone’s freezer at home being checked by a game warden without a search warrant is almost non-existent. On the other hand, if you store tailed lobster in a freezer on a boat, the likelihood is much higher.

Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Lt. Eric Kord has this suggestion for freezing lobster for future consumption:

“You could de-vein the lobsters, bleed them and then freeze them in a whole condition (carapace still attached to the tail). That way you just need to remove the head when you get ready to eat them at home.”