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Educating kids to better the environment is a great idea. Remember... no dairy or meat products in compost :)

Look, what if lobster aged like Bordeaux? That it got tenderer and sweeter and more complex as it aged? There would be no sympathy for this guy because of age. None. At. All.

Instead the restaurant would get $500 or a grand, or more, for it. And the lobsterman would get 20-40% of that.

The question of egg capacity would simply mean that only large male lobsters could be harvested, making them even more desirable. And probably an underground market in females would also develop. Can you imagine what they might go for?

This is just the nature of humans, and thus, the nature of markets. So if they're tough and not as sweet, we can anthropomorphize all we want, because we really don't think it'll taste all that good.

I used to work at a lobster house on Long Island during college, and we would get these gigantic archaic lobsters from our distributor all the time. The first couple of times it was a bit of a novelty, having a 70 year old lobster around, but after the 4th or 5th time, the cool factor wore off. Since it takes a lobster about 7 years to reach one pound, even if you eat a 3 pounder, you are dining on a crustacean that is 20 years old, or so.

i went out on a lobster boat tour in nova scotia- it'a a way for the lobster guys to make some coin when regulations say they aren't allowed to fish.

Of course everybody asked what the biggest lobster they'd ever caught was. It was huge- something like 40 or 50lbs- but their assessment was the same as most people here: above like 3 or 4 lbs, lobsters tend to be tough. Those huge lobsters are all crazy old, and old animals don't make for tasty eats.

I'm writing to confess- I have such guilt!!!
I recently ate a 12 lbs lobster (said to be 80 years old).
We sat in the kitchen four over an hour debating to eat it (we won him in a raffle). We named him Dean.
Should we release him the Rockaways? Should we call NY1? Are we breaking a law? He is older then my Dad! He survived two world wars! This is not right.
But alas, we ate him. We decided he must have committed lobster suicide, after is much younger lobster girlfriend got caught in a trap.....life was no longer worth living
Not tough at all, but honestly not as flavorful as a smaller lobster. He was still very much enjoyed! We honored his live.
Now this story comes out and the guest at the dinner party feel ashamed.
Would I do it again? No I don't think so. Dean you will forever be in our hearts!!!

of course! the theme could be "aged", with good wine and cheese :D

Get him a bigger tank and let that old boy watch Matlock.

This is pure marketing. I doubt anyone would want to eat it and I suspect if you actually tried to order it they'd refuse to serve it.

I don't get it. A lot of you say don't eat it because it has lived for so long, outsmarted trappers and so forth. However, you are quick to say you'll eat a little young one, therefore not giving the "baby" a chance at a long life. I say eat his old crusty butt and let the little guys and gals have a chance to get this big so we can have another feast. Sounds heartless I know, but to me it is the logical thing to do. At least letting the young ones grow will give them more opportunities to make more little ones. He maybe a bit tough, but with a bucket of butter I'd try to finish him off by myself.

@Giertson: I'm with you on this sentiment: "So this means that really, what one is paying for is the novelty of this lobster's existence. It is so rare that getting to eat it would be a privilege. Not a culinary privilege, but an elitist privilege. Well I frankly have no sympathy for this notion on any level, and as a food lover I feel buying rarity/novelty, and not quality/value is unacceptable."

I would not. It seems disrespectful of the species, somehow.

Am struggling with the ethics of eating anything that isn't raised in as humane an environment as possible, too. Don't exactly have the money to eat only grass fed beef or humanely raised pork, so I'm just eating a lot less meat.

Who says it's 70 years old, and how is that verified. I think this is a "big fish" story.

Gonna be hard to properly cook a lobster that large. It'll be undercooked on the inside, and overcooked on the outside.

Only way I would eat it would be sous-vide.

Mmmmmmm... sous-vide lobster...