Canadian Lobster

Canadian Lobster — Officially Imported

Canadian lobster (Homarus americanus) is the cold-water clawed lobster of the North Atlantic, prized for its meaty claws and distinctly sweet flavor. The Alaska Prime imports it through official channels — pre-cooked, frozen, and fully documented. Seven sizes available, 350g to 1kg+.

What Is Canadian Lobster?

Canadian lobster is Homarus americanus, the clawed lobster that lives on rocky bottoms in the cold Northwest Atlantic. It's the one with two large asymmetric claws — a heavy crusher and a lighter cutter — unlike tropical spiny lobster, which has no claws at all.

The fishery runs along Atlantic Canada: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and Québec. Year-round cold water means slow growth, and slow growth means firmer, sweeter meat than warm-water lobster delivers.

This is also the lobster many buyers in Vietnam know as Alaskan lobster — a common market name.

Why Choose Canadian Lobster?

The claws — the best meat on the animal. Spiny lobster gives you tail meat and that's it. Clawed lobster gives you two distinct cuts, and claw meat has a stringier, sweeter texture that many people rate above the tail.

Cold-water sweetness. Growing slowly in 2–10°C water builds up natural sugars in the muscle. It's a difference you taste immediately against warm-water lobster.

Pre-cooked convenience, flavor intact. Cooked right after harvest, then frozen. Thaw and reheat — no live handling required.

A tightly managed fishery. Fisheries and Oceans Canada runs the Lobster Fishing Area system with quotas, minimum size limits, and mandatory release of egg-bearing females. The Nova Scotia and New Brunswick trap fishery holds MSC certification.

Official import with full documentation. Certificate of Origin and health certification, traceable to the harvest area.

Which Size Should You Buy?

Yield estimates assume roughly 30–35% of live weight. Actual yield varies with season and shell hardness.

Quick rules:

• Going for presentation → size up. Bigger lobsters look better on the table and carry a higher proportion of claw meat
• Going for value → 400g–600g is the sweet spot between yield and price
• Serving a set number of people → several smaller lobsters beat one large one

More on pricing and sizing in our lobster sizing guide.

Season and Availability

Canadian lobster isn't evenly available in every size year-round. DFO splits the coast into Lobster Fishing Areas with staggered seasons — some open in spring, others in late fall and winter. Add quota limits, and individual sizes going out of stock between seasons is routine.

Three sizes (600g-700g, 700g-800g, 800g-900g) are currently out of stock. You can:

• Hit "Notify me" on the product page for a restock alert
• Switch to the nearest available size: 500g-600g or 1kg+
• Call 0909 312 490 for an expected restock date

Storage and Reheating

Our lobster arrives already cooked — no need to boil it again.

Storage: keep frozen at -18°C. Once thawed, use within 24 hours and don't refreeze.

Thawing: move to the refrigerator 8–12 hours ahead. Skip hot water and the microwave — both make the meat weep and lose sweetness.

Reheating: steam 5–7 minutes, or oven at 180°C for 8–10 minutes. You're only warming it through; overdo it and the meat turns rubbery.

Full recipe collection at lobster recipes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Canadian lobster cost? It depends on size — currently from 245,000₫ for 350g-400g up to 800,000₫ for 1kg+. Check individual product pages for current pricing.

How much meat does one lobster yield? Roughly 30–35% of live weight. A 500g lobster gives about 150–175g of meat, claws and tail combined.

Is Canadian lobster different from Alaskan lobster? They're the same product. "Alaskan lobster" is a market name — Alaska has no clawed lobster fishery, so the actual origin is always the Atlantic. Full explanation in what is Alaskan lobster.

Do you ship cold? Yes. Orders ship in insulated foam boxes with dry ice, keeping the cold chain intact to your door.