Lobster largesse: Man catches 11-pounder, donates it to aquarium
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If Tom Powers catches it, he usually eats it.
But the more the Santa Cruz man looked at his most recent bounty, the more guilty he felt about cooking the 11-pound lobster he wrestled out of an underwater cave near the Channel Islands.
So after keeping it on ice for a couple of days, Powers decided to give the aquatic arthropod to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. For Powers, it was a matter of allowing visitors to enjoy the giant lobster for a few years, rather than just satisfying his palate for a day.
"That's way more gratifying than having a lobster dinner," Powers said.
The male lobster, which arrived at the aquarium last week, now resides in the Splash Zone touch pools, though it "is not there for touching," said aquarium spokesman Ken Peterson.
Aquarium officials estimate the lobster, which measures more than 2 feet long, not counting its pincers, is at least 50 years old and could be as old as 90.
"There's no way to (accurately) age them," said Jon Hoech, director of husbandry at the aquarium.
California spiny lobsters grow about 1.5 pounds every seven to eight years, aquarium officials said. But several factors, including food supply and water temperature, can affect growth rate.
Spiny lobsters generally live in Southern California waters and don't venture farther north than San Luis Obispo, Hoech said.
"It's a neat opportunity for people who live here who don't get a chance to see these animals around here," Hoech said. Lobsters
If this size were common half a century ago, Hoech said, but because of overhunting, they now are rare finds. They play an important role in keeping the urchin population in check, which is of great importance because an overhunting of abalone has allowed the urchin population to explode off Southern California shores, Hoech said.
The aquarium's lobster does not have a name, Peterson said.
"We don't name our animals," except for otters and penguins for training purposes.
Powers said he did not name the lobster, either, but his wife referred to it as "Big Daddy."
The 54-year-old Powers said he had never caught a lobster heavier than 5 pounds in more than 10 years of lobster hunting.
Powers, a mortgage lender in Santa Cruz, is an avid free diver and surfer, and holds the distinction of being one of the first people to surf Maverick's, the Half Moon Bay surf spot that hosts the world's premier big wave surfing contest.
He said he free dives diving without an oxygen tank for lobsters once a year.
"I definitely have some gills going," Powers said. "I love getting in the water."
Powers said he and Dan Foy of Santa Cruz, whose parents live in Pebble Beach, took a boat from Ventura out to Santa Rosa Island on March 8 to get in a hunt before the end of lobster season.
Powers said he found five or six lobsters, ranging from three to six pounds, hiding under a ledge near the ocean bottom about 20 feet down.
"Then this big one was facing away from me," Powers said. "I couldn't tell how big it was. All I could see was the tail, which was substantially bigger than the others."
Getting the lobster was no easy task. Powers, who says he can hold his breath for more than four minutes, had to crawl into a space that was barely big enough for him to fit. Then, once he had the lobster, he had to back out of the cave.
The ascent included a tussle in which the lobster bit a chunk out of Powers' diving glove. One of the lobster's antennae broke off, but aquarium officials expect it to grow back because lobster antennae regenerate.
Powers said he knew it was a big lobster, but he did not realize how big until he got back to the boat and was able to stretch it out.
An aquarium member and regular visitor, Powers said he has not been to see the lobster since he handed it over last week. He said he plans to make a trip with his wife and two children in the next couple of weeks. "I think I'll bring the family down and make a day of it," he said.
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