Tom Haward, the head of a seafood business, was taken aback when his company harvested a colossal oyster that was as big as a newborn baby. The gigantic mollusk, which weighed 5.5lbs (2.5kg), was discovered along the coast of Mersea Island, Essex.

Mr. Haward estimates that the oyster – measuring 12 inches long and five inches wide – is around 20 years old. This makes it quite rare considering that oysters typically live for only about six years in harvested waters.

“I was absolutely astounded,” said Mr. Haward. “We deal with thousands of oysters daily, but we’ve never seen one like this before. It was truly fascinating. You could see the growth lines on it, similar to those on a tree.”

The seafood business, Richard Haward’s Oysters, has been in operation since 1769 and harvests approximately a million mollusks annually. However, this particular oyster is the largest Mr. Haward has ever encountered.

When asked how an oyster could live for so long, Mr. Haward explained that with 14 miles of oyster reefs, it’s quite possible for some to be overlooked and continue growing until they reach an impressive age of around 20 years.

Despite its size, if the oyster were to make it to their market stall, it would be sold based on the weight of its meat, pricing it at approximately $12.

However, Mr. Haward is considering auctioning off this special find and donating the proceeds to a lifeboat charity.

The eighth-generation oysterman humorously noted that the seafood delicacy weighed about the same as his daughter Autumn at birth. “She weighed about 6lbs, this one was 5.5lbs. Autumn loves the sea so she could be the ninth generation of Richard Haward’s Oysters,” he told British news source SWNS.

“We’ve been doing this for 300 years and it’s still as exciting for us as it was back then,” Mr. Haward said.

Interestingly, this oyster is just 1.5 inches (4cm) short of the largest oyster ever recorded by the Guinness World Records, which was discovered in Denmark and measured 13.97 inches long.

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Source: Good News Network