Man frees 17-pound lobster from Conn. restaurant
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Connecticut man purchased a 17-pound lobster at a Waterford restaurant, then released the crustacean back into Long Island Sound.
Don MacKenzie of Niantic tells The Day of New London (http://bit.ly/MGvGHb ) he knew the lobster, nicknamed "Lucky Larry" by local children, would have to be about 80-years-old to reach his current size and felt it deserved to live.
"It takes seven years for him to even become a lobster big enough to keep," MacKenzie said. "For a lobster to live this long and avoid lobster traps, nets, lobster pots ... he doesn't deserve a bib and butter."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}MacKenzie won't say how much he paid The Dock restaurant to take Larry off the menu Tuesday.
"Let's just say that it's the most expensive lobster I never ate." MacKenzie told the newspaper.
He took the lobster back to sea Tuesday, releasing it in a secret location, where he said it would be almost impossible for fishermen to drag their nets.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"They drag during the day, so if he does venture out of this area, hopefully it will be at night," said Steve Wilson, who works with MacKenzie at a local marina and helped him set Larry free.
MacKenzie received a send-off from a group of children chanting "Let Larry Live" and the lobster was given a salute from the Niantic River Bridge operator who sounded the lift bridge's siren as the boat carrying it headed to sea.
Mackenzie kept a memento of the experience, the two thick rubber bands that had been wrapped around Larry's claws to keep him from pinching anyone.
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Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com