Larry the Lobster: Saved from the plate, dies in freight

Larry the Lobster, the 15-pound, possibly century-old crustacean saved from a dinner death in Sunrise by a group of lobster lovers last week, reached the Maine State Aquarium dead on arrival.

A spokesman for the Aquarium confirmed Larry arrived DOA around noon Wednesday via FedEx.

A cause of death wasn’t given. Amir Rossi, part of the group that rescued Larry, said via text to the Miami Herald that the stress and the time out of water was too much for Larry.

“Listen, we’re all disappointed with the situation. … We did everything in our control to make sure Larry got to where he needed to be.’’

Last Wednesday, Rossi and his friends packed up Larry, named after the lifeguard lobster in “SpongeBob Squarepants,” in a box with cold packs and a frozen towel at Sunrise’s Tin Fish restaurant. They had made arrangements for the Maine State Aquarium to take Larry so he could live out his final days in peace.

Tin Fish founder and former lobster fisherman Joe Melluso helped the rescuers pack Larry. Melluso bought the lobster from his seafood distributor and had been planning on serving him for dinner until Rossi intervened. Rossi saw a Facebook post from WPLG-ABC 10 on the lobster and called iRescue Wildlife, Inc. founder John Merritt, who helped orchestrate the rescue.

Meanwhile, animal activists were upset that Larry wasn’t released back into the ocean.

“Larry's needless death after efforts were made to save him from being boiled and eaten shows that he should have immediately been released back into his ocean home, not shunted about and shipped like a piece of mail to be held captive in an aquarium,’’ said PETA Vice President Tracy Reiman in a statement Wednesday.

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Larry the Lobster: Saved from the plate, dies in freight."