Part-time fisherman captures 'monster lobster' off Devon coast

A part-time fisherman captured one of the biggest lobsters ever caught in British waters – but spared the creature's life because he thought it looked too old to eat.

By Matthew Moore
Published: 1:55PM GMT 14 Dec 2009

Simon Sharp, 42, noticed the large crustacean had become caught in his nets while fishing for Dover sole off the coast of Dartmouth in Devon.

After hauling the lobster on board with the help of his wife, Mr Sharp found that it stretched more than three feet from the tip of its claw to the end of its tail.

The claws themselves were 14 inches long and eight inches wide – powerful enough to take off a human hand.

But after taking photos of the lobster on his mobile phone, the boat builder decided to throw it back into the sea. Given the animal's size, experts say it could have been up to 100 years old.

"It was a great big barnacled old thing but it looked very old and sluggish so we decided it had to go back in quickly," Mr Sharp said.

"It was no good for eating – it would be as tough as old boots."

A spokeswoman from the Marine Conservation Society praised the couple for releasing their catch.

"Older lobsters are really important to the breeding stock, as they actually put more energy into reproduction as they get older, and it's good to keep them going. Lobsters are often, like cod, over-fished," she said.

The biggest lobster ever caught in British waters, off Fowey in Cornwall in 1931, was more than four feet long, not including its claws, and weighed 1st 6lb.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6810249/Part-time-fisherman-captures-monster-lobster-off-Devon-coast.html