Rock lobsters are active now in waters off Two Rocks with the annual whites run expected to ramp up any day now.

Earlier this week Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) scientists predicted the annual whites run of three-and-a-half to four-year-old western rock lobsters would occur at the usual time from about Friday, November 28.

Steve Mitchell, who operates a rock lobster pot pulling tour from the Two Rocks marina, told Yanchep News Online on Wednesday there were signs the whites were starting to move.

“Think next week they should be moving around,’’ he said.

On Thursday in an update for Yanchep News Online DPIRD’s principal research scientist Simon de Lestang said activity seemed to have picked up over the past few days.

“So, I would say they have started and should increase over the next few days and be full on by the weekend,’’ he said.

The annual whites run starts as recently moulted rock lobsters – using the earth’s magnetic field – turn roughly 280 degrees north-west together and head for deeper waters off the Western Australian coast.

DPIRD scientific assessments in 2021 and 2022 identified smaller than normal cohorts of baby lobsters, known as puerulus, meaning that this year’s whites run will have comparatively fewer lobsters.

But the department said the good news was the current puerulus settlement in 2025 was the best in over a decade.

WA led the world in the development of puerulus monitoring to predict the legal-size abundance of lobsters three to four years ahead, enabling proactive management of the fishery.

Dr de Lestang said the whites run was a popular time of year for lobster fishers and enjoyed by both recreational and commercial fishers alike.

He said the migrating lobsters were about three times more catchable because they were hungry after their moult, expended high levels of energy in their walking and liked to hide in pots during the day when they were in sandy areas.

“The timing for commercial fishers is perfect, and they eagerly await the whites run, because the festive season is approaching and rock lobsters are always popular choice for seafood lovers,” he said.

“Sustainability has been fundamental to the management of lobster stocks and WA’s long commitment to research and management was recognised when the western rock lobster fishery became the world’s first fishery to achieve independent third-party Marine Stewardship Council certification 25 years ago.”

This article appeared on Yanchep News Online on 27 November 2025.