Monster lobster put back into the ocean
Source: Agencies |
February 25, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE biggest lobster ever caught in Maine, United States, a 27-pounder (12.25 kilograms) nicknamed "Rocky" with claws tough enough to snap a man's arm, was released back into the ocean on Thursday after being trapped in a shrimp net last week, marine officials said.
The one-meter male crustacean, about the size of a 3-year-old child, was freed in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, said Elaine Jones, education director for the state's Department of Marine Resources.
"All the weight is in the claws," Jones said. "It would break your arm."
The lobster was caught near the seaside village of Cushing and brought to the Maine State Aquarium in West Boothbay. The state restricts fishermen from keeping lobsters that measure more than 5 inches (1.27 centimeters) from the eye to the start of the tail.
Because he became acclimatized to the water near the aquarium, the lobster was released in West Boothbay rather than where he was caught.
Scientists are unable to accurately estimate the age of lobsters of this size, said Jones.
The marine lab has no record of a larger lobster being caught in Maine, she said. The world's largest recorded lobster, weighing 20kg, was caught off Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1977, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Maine lobstermen hauled in a record 45.4 tons of lobsters last year.
The one-meter male crustacean, about the size of a 3-year-old child, was freed in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, said Elaine Jones, education director for the state's Department of Marine Resources.
"All the weight is in the claws," Jones said. "It would break your arm."
The lobster was caught near the seaside village of Cushing and brought to the Maine State Aquarium in West Boothbay. The state restricts fishermen from keeping lobsters that measure more than 5 inches (1.27 centimeters) from the eye to the start of the tail.
Because he became acclimatized to the water near the aquarium, the lobster was released in West Boothbay rather than where he was caught.
Scientists are unable to accurately estimate the age of lobsters of this size, said Jones.
The marine lab has no record of a larger lobster being caught in Maine, she said. The world's largest recorded lobster, weighing 20kg, was caught off Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1977, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
Maine lobstermen hauled in a record 45.4 tons of lobsters last year.
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