Water flow throughout your baskets is essential for optimal lobster quality – whether they be in your live tanks, or in GFC’s trucks or holding tanks.

Inadequate lid ventilation (from not enough / not big enough holes in lids) can have a huge effect on the health of lobsters.  GFC research has shown that lobsters transported in warm spray trucks suffer permanent damage.  This is why GFC transports your lobsters under chilled seawater sprays.  Inadequate lid ventilation dramatically reduces the beneficial chilling effect of these sprays by preventing the cold water from cooling your lobsters.  While you may not see the immediate difference in your grading results, poor temperature control has a major downstream effect on lobster health and their ability to survive the challenge of live export to market.

Here are some examples of lids that are currently being used, but which clearly don’t have enough holes. Large areas of the lid are solid and the lobsters underneath will not come into contact with the chilled sprays in trucks.   If you can’t see the lobsters underneath your lids, those lovely chilled sprays can’t reach them.

This lid has enough holes – they are just way too small! 

These lids have good sized holes – there just aren’t enough of them 

Now compare these lids to GFC’s new lid designed for use when transferring lobsters in chilled water spray trucks. These lids actually offer greater protection against leg and feeler damage, all while maximising lobster health.

GFC purpose designed transfer lids. This design gives greater protection against feeler/leg damage (due to the gap around its edge) while maximising coverage of chilled spray water.

If you would like any assistance with lobster handling and drain conditions, contact GFC Continuous Improvement Manager, Brad Armstrong (0437 513 837) or GFC Research and Development Officer, Joel Durell (0407 135 712).