CBS2 Meets Long Island's Newest Star -- A 95-Year-Old Lobster

ISLAND PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – For some, a giant lobster would be the meal of a lifetime.

But one Long Island restaurant owner said he won't cook or sell the one he just got, because it's nearly a century old, CBS2's Elise Finch reported Tuesday.

There's a new attraction at Jordan Lobster Farms this week – a crustacean so big employees are surprised by it and customers would rather take pictures with it than eat it.

"I've heard of these enormous lobsters, but I've never seen one, so it's a real treat," Long Beach resident Brittney Beigel said.

"It's humongous!" employee Joann Alegria said.

"That one you have to use your whole body weight to just lift it up, so that's crazy," employee Erika Opena added.

Jordan Lobster Farms owner Stephen Jordan is no stranger to large lobsters. Restaurant owners and diners routinely come to his wholesale and retail business for five, seven, even 10-pound lobsters.

The old one Finch saw officially weighed in at a whopping 23 pounds.

"We received it yesterday morning from one of our fisherman, John Price, who's in the Bay of Fundy. He shipped it in, he didn't even tell us. He said 'look in the crate.' We opened it up and we were like 'whoa!'" Jordan said.

There's no way to tell a lobster's exact age but based on its weight and size fisherman said the big one is roughly 95 years old.

Jordan said it's been about a decade since he's had a lobster this big. So instead of selling it he's going to donate it to the Long Island Aquarium, Finch reported.

"It's almost like a dinosaur. You'd like to see it continue on and I think they would take good care of it," Jordan said.

Some of the local patrons agreed.

"I think it's a nice thing for him to do, that the kids will get to see it," said Alisa Glasel of Plainview.

"It's more cool to watch it and look at it than eat it," added Dennis Lynch of Huntington.

Restaurant customers can continue to have close encounters with the big guy until he heads to his new home at the aquarium in a few days.

Experts say even though we don't usually get to see them, lobsters at the deepest parts of the ocean often live to be 100 years old, Finch reported.