Send this page to someone via email

Lobsters were strewn across a highway in Nova Scotia after a tractor-trailer lost its load in a crash on the province’s south shore.

A truck carrying live lobsters crashed near Port Mouton at around 1 a.m. Saturday while trying to swerve away from an animal on Highway 103, said the RCMP.

Police said the driver was taken to hospital and later released.

READ MORE: Mystery solved: ‘Sea creature’ in Indonesia revealed to be Baleen whale

Cpl. Andrew Joyce wouldn’t say how big the load was, but said the cargo was “high value.”

Lobsters spilled across the crash site, shutting down a lane for hours during the investigation and cleanup, Joyce said.

“It was pretty amazing how much lobster there was,” said Vicki Grant, who drove past the scene about 12 hours after the crash on Saturday afternoon. “There were crates all over, and it was pretty well carpeted.”

Story continues below advertisement

Police said bystanders were told not to take lobsters from the scene, but Grant said that didn’t stop people from ransacking the wreckage, some filling bags with discarded seafood delicacies.

READ MORE: Vehicle crashes into Stony Plain home, catches fire

Grant said she saw about 20 people scouring deep into the ditch to find the freshest-looking lobsters, many having died in the hours after the crash.

Some of the red, fat lobsters looked tempting, said Grant, but she couldn’t get over the “fishy” smell.

“I don’t blame anybody for taking it. It would have just gone to waste,” Grant said. “But I wasn’t about to scramble down the ditch to get some … If I wanted lobster that badly, I can pony up 10 bucks a pound.”