A pair of builders have donated a giant lobster to Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium after spotting it at a Cornish food festival.
Derek Mitchells, from Camborne, and Paul Tresidder, from Fourlanes took pity on the giant crustacean, who they nicknamed Rocky, when they came across him at a seafood festival in Penzance.
They paid £30 for the lobster and then got in touch with aquarists at the aquarium to see if they would give him a new home.
“We were due to be working on a job in Penzance but it was rained off and we went to get something to eat,” said Derek.
“We spotted a sign for the seafood festival and I saw this big live lobster sitting on ice. I said to Paul ‘I want to buy that lobster and save it. He’s an old boy and he deserves better than ending up in the pot’!
“At that stage we hadn’t even called the aquarium to see if they would take him but just had him in a cardboard box in Paul’s car. I then called the aquarium and they told us he needed to be kept cool and in seawater so I stopped off at the B&Q in Penzance.
“The manager there very kindly donated a plastic container we could put Rocky in and we then stopped off to get some seawater for him,” he added.
The pair then drove the giant crustacean over to Newquay where staff initially thought Derek and Paul were fishermen.
Blue Reef Aquarium’s Sophia Medine said: “It came as a bit of a surprise when we found out these two burly builders wanted to save this fantastic-looking lobster.
“They said they wanted to save Rocky from the pot and it was a bit like him winning the lottery!
“Initially we put him in to our quarantine tank to make sure he was fit and healthy but he’s in such good condition that we’ve now put him in to our main native marine display where Derek and Paul can come and see him whenever they want,” she added.
Lobsters are among the planet’s oldest inhabitants with fossil remains found dating back more than 100 million years. They are also extremely long-lived with some individuals reaching ages in excess of 50 years.
Issued by Blue Reef Aquarium. For more information and to arrange pictures and interviews please contact Sophia Medine or Steve Matchett on 01637 878134 or Derek Mitchell direct on 07856 916 820.
