Frequently Asked Questions

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We sell by case lots to keep prices as low as possible.  Our prices when you break it down per lb, ia less than half of what you can find locally and will almost match East Coast prices despite the very high cost of FedEx priority overnight shipping.   We realize most people cannot afford or do not want 24 to 25 lbs of lobsters.  This is why we suggest getting together with friends, relatives or workmates and splitting up a case.  If we sold lobsters individually, our prices would need to be $4 to $5 a lb higher.  As it is, even the most in demand and highest priced lobster size is $20 or more a lb cheaper  than anywhere else in Hawaii for LIVE Maine lobster.

You should place your order 3 to 5 days before our designated pick up days, which are Tuesday to Friday on Oahu and Wednesday and Fridays only on the Big Island.  Pickup locations will be a prearranged location in the Kailua area on Oahu and a prearranged location from Hilo to Mountain View on the Big Island. FedEx will normally have the order delivered to our location no later than 2PM.  You will be notified immediately upon its arrival and will then have up to 5 hours to pick up your order.  Any orders not picked up within the 5 hour window may be forfeited or subject to additional charges.    Please remember these are live sea creatures and they cannot survive more than 36-48 hours once pulled from the ocean. ALL ORDERS MUST BE PAID IN FULL AT TIME OF ORDER.

NO.  The State of Hawaii, Department of Agriculture requires a current import permit to bring live lobsters into Hawaii.  Lobsters can only be sent by the shipper named on the permit to the person and address listed on the permit. Unpermitted shipments may be confiscated and the person importing live lobster without a permit is subject to fines ranging from $100 to several thousand dollars and up to 3 years imprisonment,  depending upon the severity of the offense, in addition to having the shipment confiscated and destroyed.

Our Oahu permit # is 26-07-O-A9655 and for the Big Island it is 26-07-H-A9644.

Yes, you should always choose a big lobster over two smaller ones.  The bigger lobster will have a better shell to meat ratio and it is easier lot extract the meat out of a larger lobster.  A large lobster's meat is not tougher or less sweet than a smaller lobster.  If a lobster's meat is tough or "chewy" it is because it has been over cooked.  

Absolutely.  A hard shell lobster will have much more meat than a soft shelled one.  A soft shell lobster is one that has recently molted and most of the inside of the shell is water.

Some are convinced that lobsters can and do feel pain.  Regardless of whether they do or do not, there are many videos on YouTube on how to humanely dispatch and cook lobsters and we recommend looking there for suggestions.

You can expect to get close to 30% of the lobster's weight in meat from the tail and claws.  The other 70% is waste like the shell and other parts most people don't eat.  A 2.5 lb lobster will give you about the same amount of meat as 2lbs of jumbo size king crab legs.  Both are delicious, but king crab legs are two to three times the cost of what we sell our lobsters for.