The western rock lobster fishery prides itself on being one of the best-managed and demonstrably sustainable seafood resource in Australia. It is a substantial industry. Forecasts of catch for the 1999/00 season are 14,000,000kgs. The product is almost all exported, and a potential average selling price of $30.00 suggests direct revenue to Australia of over $400 million next year.

Accordingly, any modest improvements in the production processes or in customer perceptions can lead to substantial extra revenue to Australia.

Innovation in the industry has been slow due to high entry costs into the processing section of the industry and the exposure of processors the volatile beach prices and overseas demands and prices. This combined with the strong presence of processing co-operatives has minimised the attractiveness of the industry to new participants.

Without external assistance such as NSC, the potential benefits to the industry of changing production systems may not be realised for some time.

The sensory evaluations will seek to identify whether the consumers prefer the steamed product or are indifferent between steamed and traditionally cooked product. A marked preference for the steamed product would indicate the possibility of premium product positioning and special branding. Consumer indifference would suggest the commercial benefits could arise only from better yields in the production processes. A consumer preference for the traditionally cooked product would suggest the change in techniques would not be successful.