She told CBC News that her grandfather had read about the lobster’s likely fate and urged her to save it from the dinner table.

“He doesn’t deserve to die in a tank,” she explained. “He’s probably four times older than I am.”

Alma Lobster Shop co-owner Catherine MacDonald told the Canadian Press that the lobster was above the average size they usually catch.

The story had a happy ending, with Ms MacDonald confirming: “It was released on a vessel out in the Bay of Fundy in front of the village.”