Spiny lobsters can display large difference in growth rate which is thought to be associated with agonistic behaviour of dominant individuals controlling a disproportional share of food resources. Recently it become clear that variability in the metabolic physiology of individuals can an important factor influencing behaviour and growth of marine organisms and thus is an important consideration for understanding intraspecific diversity of performance. However, the relationship between metabolic phenotype and growth has not been previously examined in any spiny lobster species. We investigated the possible effect of individual variation in metabolic rate and growth performance of juvenile Eastern spiny lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi). In a laboratory experiment, juvenile lobsters were randomly distributed into two rearing conditions; individual (n=17) and communal (n=20). Growth performance, survival and feed intake was greater for juveniles were cultured communally demonstrating that social interaction is important for promoting growth of lobsters. The relationship between growth and standard metabolic rate showed positive correlation in individual cultured juveniles indicating a direct link between metabolic phenotype of individuals and growth. In communal culture, the influence of social interaction outweighed the direct relationship between metabolic rate and lobster growth. The results demonstrated that growth performance of spiny lobsters is affected by individual variation in metabolic status but social behaviour plays a more dominant role in determining the growth of individuals.