Television presenter Noel Edmonds has sparked a social media firestorm after purchasing two live lobsters from a farm shop and releasing them into the sea at Peel Harbour on the Isle of Man, an incident some social media users have humorously dubbed “Lobstergate.”
The 77-year-old former Deal or No Deal host posted a video on Instagram showing himself and his wife Liz Davies releasing the crustaceans into the water. In the footage, Edmonds explained that the couple felt uncomfortable seeing the lobsters confined to a tank at The Farm Shop in Glen Helen. “We were at a place where there were some lobsters in a tank, and we’re a little bit uncomfortable about the lobsters and tanks,” he said in the video. “So we bought the lobsters, and now Liz is going to release them.”
As Liz dropped the lobsters into the harbor, Edmonds remarked on the water’s clarity and noted that a seal had recently swum past. “There they go! And we know this is nice fresh water because a moment ago a seal went past. Wonderful place,” he said. The post’s caption read: “We love and respect all creatures great and small.”
However, the well-intentioned gesture quickly drew criticism from social media users and experts who warned that releasing captive lobsters into the ocean is inadvisable for several reasons. One commenter noted: “Lovely sentiment, but from a marine biologist perspective it’s best not to release captive lobsters.” Another argued: “They didn’t have a chance the moment he removed them from tank.”
Experts caution that lobsters held in captivity for extended periods face significant survival challenges when released into the wild. Tank-kept lobsters may suffer thermal shock when moved to different water temperatures and have lost their natural instincts to forage for food and avoid predators. Additionally, captive lobsters can carry diseases that pose risks to wild populations.
The Scottish Government has warned that American lobsters sold through the seafood trade can carry Gaffkaemia, a bacterial disease that is far more destructive to native European lobsters and can cause significant mortality within days. Regulations require licenses for depositing live or dead lobsters into the ocean, and animals that have been landed cannot be re-immersed into the wild unless held in compliant facilities.
Despite the criticism, the animal rights organization PETA came out in support of Edmonds’ actions. PETA UK’s Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen praised the couple’s “compassion,” saying: “Such compassion is all too rare in today’s world, especially for the smallest or least understood forms of life.” While acknowledging that the lobsters may not survive in the wild, Allen noted that at least they would avoid being boiled alive.
The shop owner, Matt Harrison, responded positively to Edmonds’ actions. He told Manx Radio that Edmonds had informed him in advance of the plan to release the lobsters and that he had advised them on how to do so safely. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s a nice thing to do. No problem at all,” Harrison said. He emphasized that the lobsters were locally caught and delivered to the shop every one to two weeks, with animals rotated through the tank and rarely kept longer than two weeks. He criticized the backlash against Edmonds as “incorrect, unfactual and unnecessary.”
In response to the incident and the public attention it generated, Harrison said he was considering getting rid of the lobster tank altogether. He noted that the tank had been moved but remained in the shop, though he acknowledged that while he was sensitive to people’s feelings, the vast majority of customers wanted him to keep it.
Edmonds disabled comments on the original Instagram post before eventually deleting the video entirely as the controversy continued to grow online. The incident has sparked broader debate about the ethics of selling live lobsters in retail settings and the potential consequences of attempting to return captive creatures to the wild.