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A Chinese fisherman gave up the chance to earn a fortune from restaurants when he released a 200lb turtle back into the ocean.

In a land where many unlikely animals are fair game for restaurateurs, Cai Tu, 45, was so overawed by the size of the animal that he allowed it to swim free once more.

He said: "My dad, who was a fisherman, taught me you can tell their age from the shell, and based on that I estimated the turtle was over 100 years old."

Amid the struggle to eke out an existence, his fellow Menyuwei villagers branded him a fool for letting such a valuable delicacy get away.

But Cai insisted: "Sometimes you have to do the right thing.

"I looked into that turtle's eye and saw something that was alive before my grandfather was born, and I didn't want to be the end of that journey.

"I wanted to give him another chance."

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China has a taste for turtle - it is made into soup, their eggs are eaten and even their bones are ground up for use in Chinese medicine to promote longevity.

Fish markets the length and breadth of China are filled with live specimens caught fresh that day.

Cai could have earned the equivalent of £500 - two months' wages - for the whopper he nicknamed The Hulk if he had put it up for sale to restaurants.

But he added: "It was obviously very old and I figured it had earned its right to enjoy the rest of its days in the deep.

"He had lichen all over his back and barnacles growing on his shell bottom.

"He was a real old man of the sea and so I decided there and then that was where he belonged.

"Some people have laughed at me, others have said they respect me for what I did.

"I hope The Hulk doesn't get entangled in anyone else's nets any time soon."