The Bahamian Spiny Lobster The Bahamian Spiny Lobster Fishery Fishery

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Spiny Lobster Processing at: Spiny Lobster Processing at:

Tropic Seafood, Ltd.Tropic Seafood, Ltd.Nassau, BahamasNassau, Bahamas

By Jon ChaitonMarch 14, 2013

Commercial Spiny Lobster Fishing Vessels supply lobster tails to Tropic Seafood, Ltd.

Each mother-ship carries with it from 3-

15 skiffs, each outfitted with a

compressor. At least two divers work the

skiff taking turns operating the

compressor and diving for spiny lobster

Skiffs

The large mother-ships have blast freezing and

freezer storage capacity of around 50,000 lbs. of spiny

lobster tails

In the Bahamas Spiny Lobster Fishery “Condominiums” or

“Casitas” are placed by fishermen on the sea floor. Spiny lobster and other sea

life seek shelter beneath this protective enclosure.

Concrete blocks are used to weigh down the roof of the

condo and keep the unit in place

After some time at sea, the condos become encrusted

with marine life and become almost a natural habitat for

spiny lobster.

Many species of fish find shelter under the condo as well as spiny lobster

Notice the diversity of marine life that utilize the condo for habitat

This sea turtle is undoubtedly looking for a

spiny lobster lunch

Bahamian hogfish also utilize the condo for

protection

The great barracuda are predators of the

spiny lobster and are often seen

lurking around the condos

Once the condo is lifted up by the

fisherman, spiny lobster of all sizes

are found underneath

All these spiny lobster were using the condo for refuge. The diver will select only legal sized lobsters with a carapace length of at least 3.25 inches for

harvesting.

Undersize lobsters are left alone to return to the

condo to continue growing so that they have the chance to

spawn at least one time before being harvested

Hooks are used to pull the lobster out

from under the condo. This group of spiny lobster is now ready to be carried

to the surface

Hook end

The diver surfaces with the lobster after harvesting

each condo

Spiny Lobsters are placed on ice in the fish holds of each skiff. This helps maintain freshness.

Once aboard the skiff the

tails are removed and

delivered to the mother-ship

The end of the fishing trip means the beginning of processing.

40 lb. bags of frozen lobster tails are received into the

loading dock at Tropic Seafood, Ltd.

Each bag (or “Kit” as it is called in the Bahamas) is weighed and checked for temperature, quality and

level of bi-sulfite

Frozen tails are placed in environmentally controlled thawing tanks overnight

After overnight thawing the tails are place on a conveyor

for cleaning and inspection

Technicians extract the intestinal tract and

check the tail for quality

Approximately 75 trained technicians are used each

day to clean and inspect the lobster tails

Tails are sprayed with Ozonated water for

continuous sanitization throughout the process

line

After cleaning tails are soaked in an ice-slush bath for re-chilling prior to grading

Lobster tails are placed onto the

grading conveyor where they are

weighed and graded at 80 tails per minute

Each tail is weighed 9 times as it moves across the scale. Those weights

are averaged and the information is sent to the

grader selector which reaches out and collects

each individual tail.

After Grading, tails are

inspected and placed into

individual poly bags then put into

10 lb. Net Wt. boxes

10 lb. Net Wt. boxes are then re-weighed by Check-

Weigher-Technicians to make sure that net weights are correct

Products are placed on Freezer racks and moved to the Blast Freezer overnight where the

temperature is maintained at -20 deg. F.

It is essential that all tails are “Hard-Frozen” completely

through before they can be moved to the

Metal Detection Area

After Blast Freezing each 10 lb. Net Wt. box is checked for pack quality, appearance, frozen state

and uniformity prior to being put through the Safeline Metal Detection System

In the morning, the product is checked for its frozen state. Racks are removed from the Blast Freezer and brought to

the Metal Detection area

Each 10 lb. box is passed through the

Metal Detector before moving on to the Case-

Out area

Four 10 lb. Net Wt. boxes are

placed into each 40 lb. Master

Case. The cases are sealed,

strapped, labeled and staged on

pallets.

Completed master cases are temporarily staged on the shipping dock, then immediately

moved into Tropic Seafood, Ltd’s

Cold Storage Freezer until they are shipped

40% of Tropic Seafood, Ltd’s Spiny Lobster Tail Production goes to Europe

50% of Tropic Seafood, Ltd’s Spiny Lobster Tail Production goes to the USA

The remaining 10% is sold to countries like China, Canada with some domestic sales to the Bahamas

No cleaning or sanitizing chemicals are used in the processing area at

TSL.

Only ozone is used as a sanitizing agent at TSL. It is generated in-

house and it is extremely effective in pathogen reduction.

At Tropic Seafood, Ltd., Ozone is used to:

*Sanitize the Product*Sanitize the Environment*Sanitize the Workers

Tropic Seafood, Ltd., has been the leader in Spiny Lobster Tail Production in the Bahamas and the Caribbean since 1973. The facility is

in full compliance with USFDA and EU Codus Alimentarius and HACCP Standards.

On December 21, 2012 Tropic Seafood, Ltd., became the first company in the entire Caribbean and the only company in The

Bahamas to receive the BRC Compliance Certificate, a Global Standard for Food Safety,

for their production of Spiny Lobster Tails.

Tropic Seafood, Ltd., is the First lobster company in the world to receive this honor. No other lobster company can make this claim.

Tropic Seafood, Ltd., received a Grade of “A” during their BRC inspection