Lobsters can be eaten within 24 hours if it's a Fresh live lobster
. Generally lobster have the ability to live out of water for extended period under a specific temperature, the lobsters must remain cold and wet to survive out of water.
Fresh live lobsters must be dealt with promptly on arrival, they should be refrigerated immediately. The lobster starts to weaken rapidly when they are exposed to warm or freezing temperature.
Fresh live lobsters are many a time caught out of water during low tides. Naturally stranded lobsters will seek shelter under rock that are covered by heavy growth of wet seaweeds since lobsters must remain cold and wet to survive out of water. Therefore using the same concept you can keep a lobster fresh till it's time to cook.
Some tips you can keep in mind while handling Fresh live lobsters,
1. Handle the Fresh live lobster with care. Take every precaution to handle the carton in which the lobsters are very gently as if it were an egg carton. Fresh live lobsters should never be thrown, dropped, crushed, or dumped and try to keep handling to bare minimum.
2. Unpack the lobster in a cool damp area. Check the lobster as soon as possible, week lobster has droopy claws and tail. Once home cook them the quality of the lobster is high if is alive at purchase and cooked the same day.
3. Always put Fresh live lobster on paper at the bottom of the lobster which is dry and crumpled and on top of the lobster place slightly dampened paper.
4. While repacking the Fresh live lobster handle it very carefully and gently, make sure to curl the tail and do not force too many lobsters in on box or container.
5. Always cover the container which has the Fresh live lobster and store it in the refrigerator.
The last but not the least about lobster and a warning is when you find the tail of the cooked lobster is limp and has a ammonia odor, then that means the lobster has been dead for too long prior to cooking and the quality of the meat has deteriorated.