European lobster range from Scandinavia to North Africa, inhabiting sub-tidal waters of the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Western Black Sea (Prodöhl et al. 2006). Genetic differentiation among populations is weak overall, but distinct groups have been identified in four locations: northern Norway, Netherlands, remaining Atlantic, and the Aegean. 

Six "Lobster Fishery Units" (LFUs) have been defined for purposes of assessment and management of the species in English waters: Northumberland and Durham, Yorkshire Humber, East Anglia, Southeast South Coast, Southwest and Northwest (Masefield et al. 2017).