COUNTY NEWS: Monster crab is '˜biggest seen' by fishmonger
When the colossal crustacean was hauled into the Riverside Fish shop in Pier Road, Littlehampton, on Friday, veteran fishmonger Simon Finch said he was ‘absolutely shocked’: “I have never seen one so big. It is the biggest crab I have ever seen in 20 years.”
The behemoth was caught six miles off the coast of Littlehampton and weighed seven pounds, with a foot-wide shell and a half a metre clawspan.
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Hide AdThe average crab the 44-year-old sells is one pound in weight, and he believed this specimen was around 25 years old.
The prize animal went on display for a short while in the shop’s tank, attracting the attention of many children.
Simon said: “A lot of people were going crabbing and the ones they catch are two or three inches, so they were absolutely gobsmacked at a crab like that.”
Unfortunately for the crab its fame was shortlived, as it was sold to a man for £30 who turned the crustacean into the centrepiece of a dinner party.
Simon said: “I’m sure he went down a storm.”
In the wild, crabs do not stop growing and can live to be 100 years old.