Santa Rosa Island
Digital News Report- The 11-pound lobster discovered by free-diver Tom Powers of Santa Cruz is now on display at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The unusually large crustacean was found off the coast of California’s Santa Rosa Island, which is the largest of the Channel Islands off of the coast of Santa Barbara. Powers willingly gave the lobster over to the aquarium stating that it was more gratifying to him than a single dinner.
Scott Reid, the aquarium’s associate curator for fish and invertebrates, told the Ventura County Star that he had “seen big lobsters before but nothing like this.” He estimated that the lobster could be up to 90 years old.
California spiny lobsters are estimated to gain 1.5 pounds every 7-8 years, according Aquarist Kevin Lewand. The lobsters are a “huge keystone species,” says Lewand. “They’re important for a healthy kelp forest.”
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