Most Americans really enjoy lobster tails when they are grilled, and they are also delicious when they are baked over hot rocks. Cooking a dead lobster can turn out to be a bad experience, as you may suffer from food poisoning. Cooking the lobster alive is what is preferred and gives a delicate treat. But, as lobsters are known to live in water, how long can they live without it?

You must be familiar with the creature if you live near oceans, burrows, or on the seafloor. Nevertheless, lobsters are found all around the coastal areas, and they are considered as one of the best seafood.

However, if you want to make a lobster dish or plan to have a lobster as a pet, it’s important to find out how long lobsters can live out of the water so that you do not unintentionally endanger their lives.

As a matter of fact, lobsters can live without water only for a couple of days, and that too in a condition where they are kept in a moist place.

Why is this so, and how long exactly can lobster live without water? Let’s find it out below.

How long can lobsters survive without water?

To find out how long a lobster can go without water, you need to understand what they need to live on and why water is essential for them.

Just like humans, lobsters need oxygen to survive, and they use their gills to get oxygen from the seawater. Same as fish, crabs, and mollusks, lobsters breathe through gills.

As our respiratory system circulates air to breathe, lobster gills circulate water to maintain a steady supply of oxygen.

Taking into account the above description, you can see how important it is for lobsters to live in water. But are they able to survive without it or not?

Without water, lobsters can survive for two days at most. It is because they need moisture to get oxygen. In case you want them to live a bit longer, you need to keep them in a place with a large amount of moistness, or you can keep them on ice.

Living out of water is not an option for lobsters. It may not be possible to keep them alive for even two days if there is no moisture or little moisture in their environment.

Due to the wide variety of lobsters found around the world, the time lobsters can live without water varies from 36 to 48 hours.

In terms of the two most well-known types, Maine lobsters can live without water for up to 48 hours, whereas Blue lobsters can survive without water for just 36 hours.

How can you store a live lobster at home?

You may not want to cook them immediately, but then how can you keep them in your house? It may come as a surprise, but it’s too easy. Put the lobsters in a large glass bowl or container and store them in a refrigerator.

Keeping them in a cool place is the ultimate method to store lobsters for a period of time. Furthermore, you can cover the lobsters with seaweed to keep them moisturized.

To make a delightful dish, it is better to prepare lobsters as soon as they are out of water.

How can live lobsters be kept alive?

If handled properly, a live lobster can be kept alive for quite some time. You already know the technique to store them in your house; let’s also find out how you can keep them alive with no seawater available.

Lobsters have a hard time surviving even in freshwater, so the longer you keep them away from the sea, the riskier it is for them to survive. However, as said earlier, you can keep them alive for a few days.

Damp newspaper: The same technique you apply for storing, covering them with the damp newspaper, will provide the gills with moisture, and as a result, they will not collapse. However, this, too, won’t work for too long.

Aquarium: You can create favorable conditions by controlling the water temperature as well as other properties in an aquarium and keeping the lobsters alive.

Ice: Surrounding the lobsters with ice also does wonders and helps them stay alive for a long time. However, the ice should not leak, or else it can be dreadful for the lobsters.

Conclusion

If you are about to bring the lobsters on land, remember that they might not be able to make it for more than 36 hours or 48 hours at max. This is how long the lobsters can live out of water. If you want to try cooking a lobster, do try as soon as you bring them out of the water. After all, cooking a dead lobster is not at all feasible and may result in food poisoning and other problems.