Automation of processing is widespread in many food production industries. Currently, labour costs in the Western Rocklobster industry are high and availability of labour is extremely poor. This is especially problematic given the processing of Western Rocklobsters is a highly manual process....

Each year 4-5,000 tonnes of western rock lobster are cooked and exported to countries such as Japan and Taiwan. When existing cooking methods are used a proportion of cooked western rock lobster go black, this results in a product that is unacceptable to the customer The blackening of the flesh is...

Rock lobsters can be exposed to poor water quality during all stages of handling and holding prior to going to market. Poor water quality reduces the time a lobster can be held alive and how many animals can be held in a system and thus may reduce profit. The quality of water can be assessed using...

The previously undescribed phenomenon of hypersaline-induced autotomy in western rock lobsters has been fully characterised. The extent of occurrence of hypersaline films throughout the post-harvest chain has been examined and found to be significant. Environmental factors contributing to the...