After nearly three weeks at sea, Joe Sayers docks a boat filled to the brim with treasure — it's red, thorny and alive.
"Now we're up to getting a few dollars in the bank from better prices, but our costs are going up … all the time, like fuel and baits," Mr Sayers said.
"It's just like a fingerprint or facial recognition technology," associate professor at IMAS Quinn Fitzgibbon said.
Scientists physically tag lobsters during population surveys, but that's not viable for the industry because tags can be removed or forged.
New horizons for southern rock lobsters It's the kind of innovation that is making Mr Sayers optimistic about where things are headed.