An 18-pound American lobster destined for a dinner plate, has been saved and now resides at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island.
The 75-year-old lobster was trapped in a routine catch off the coast of Canada a few weeks ago and was shipped by to San Francisco in a container with close to two tons of fellow lobsters. A local seafood distributor decided to save the lobster and called area aquariums.
One facility posted an ad on the International Forum of Professional Aquarists, to which the New York Aquarium responded.
“When we saw that ad for an 18-pound American lobster, we knew we had to have it,” said Jon Forrest Dohlin, WCS Vice President and Director of the New York Aquarium in a statement. “He’s a magnificent creature that has been delighting our guests since his arrival,” adds Dohlin.
The lobster is the largest of its species ever to live at the New York Aquarium. The New York Aquarium’s giant crustacean is now housed in its Sea Cliffs exhibit. There, it shares space with marine mammals like walrus and sea lions, along with hundreds of fish. He eats about three-quarters of a pound of shrimp and fish a day.
Surprisingly, this lobster isn’t even close to the largest. According to the Guinness World Records organization, the largest recorded lobster weighed in at 44 pounds and 6 ounces – more than 180 years old.
