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Fish4Life provides everything you need to enjoy seafood responsibly. Explore information and practical tips for safe and sustainable seafood consumption, and help protect marine life by reporting undersized or illegally traded seafood.

Norway lobster
Nephrops norvegicus
Αστακοκαραβίδα

Sustainability Status

Highly exploited

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Help us protect our seas by reporting illegal or undersized fish that you see in markets, restaurants or fishing boats
Fishstocks – Declining due to overexploitation
Bad choice –Consumption of this species is unsustainable

Legal

Minimum Size

7cm (Total length) or 2cm (Carapace length)

Prohibited Consumption Period

–

Sustainable

Minimum Size

7cm (Total length) or 2cm (Carapace length)

Avoid Consumption Period

Year round

Advice for Consumption

This species is heavily overexploited. Its consumption is therefore currently considered unsustainable until stocks recover.

Greek legislation does not provide an adequate closed season for this species, leaving both juvenile and breeding individuals unprotected.

If you do choose to consume this species, it is essential to respect the recommended minimum sustainable size, select larger, mature lobsters, and avoid consuming individuals caught during the breeding season.

Choosing larger, mature lobsters helps reduce fishing pressure on juvenile individuals.

Archipelagos Tips

If you spot lobsters being sold during the closed season, undersized lobsters, or egg-bearing females being caught or sold during the breeding season, please report it to us. Your observations help us monitor the extent of this problem.

Common names

FR

Langoustine

it

Scampo

es

Cigala

tr

Norvec istakozu

pt

Lagostim

nl

Noors kreeftje

de

Buchstabenkrebs

toxicity

This species is safe to consume.

iucn info

Least concern (LC)

Description

The head and thorax have a non-segmented cover (the carapace) while the long abdomen is clearly segmented with a broad fan-like tail. The first 3 pairs of legs have claws. The front legs are very elongated with spiny ridges. There are 2 pairs of antennae, the second pair much longer and thinner than the first. The eyes are large, black, and moveable.

It looks like other members of the Nephropidae family, particularly those within the Nephrops genus.

Did you know?

During the final development stage of the egg, the colour changes from dark green through pale green to pink.

Ecological Aspects

Diet

Dentritivorous and macrobenthivorous.
Feeds on decaying matter, crustaceans and worms.

habitat

Benthic.
Found in the continental shelf and slope. Inhabits muddy bottoms in which it digs its burrows.

Max size & depth range

Max length : 24 cm
Max weight: 150 g
Depth range: 20-800 m

breeding & Growth

Females carry eggs for nine months before laying them around January – March.
Reporductive and egg booring season from April to December.
Growth rate: Slow (k = 0.10yr⁻¹).

Longevity & presence

Lifespan: 5-10 years
Max reported age: 22 years
Distribution: Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, Northern Norway and Eastern Aegean Sea.

appearance changes

Males and females differ in appearance; males have a longer thorax, whereas females have a larger cephalus (head).

Reproductive Cycle

They carry between 1000 to 6000 eggs per clutch and they generally spawn once per year.
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If you’d like to learn more about the work of the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation, please visit our website: https://archipelago.gr/

Good choice – Consumption of this species is currently considered sustainable

Illegal species – Fishing, selling and consumption of this species is illegal

Fishstocks – Declining due to overexploitation

Think before you eat – This species faces increasing pressures and should only be consumed responsibly

Bad choice – Consumption of this species is unsustainable

Health concerns –
Can accumulate dangerously high levels of toxic substances harmful to health

Alien / Invasive – This species is not from this region and can have a negative impact on the ecosystem and threaten local biodiversity, so it is sustainable to eat

Aquafarms – You will commonly find this species coming from aquafarms