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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Neil Shaw & Alahna Kindred

Fisherman finds crab with a sponge on its back that looks like a delicious Cornish Pasty

A fisherman was stunned to find a crab that looked just like a Cornish Pasty.

Ian Jepson, who has been a fisherman for 35 years, spotted the ultra-rare "sponge-coated" crustacean while out at sea.

He said they are known to carve out a piece of sponge that sits loosely on their back, CornwallLive reports.

The result makes them look just like the savoury baked treat.

Ian spotted the crab six miles off the coast of Perranporth, Cornwall.

He added: "We do get a few weird things now and again and it is great to see. It certainly makes the day more enjoyable out here.

What do you think of this tasty-looking crab? Let us know in the comments

A fisherman was stunned to catch this little crustacean (Ian Jepson / SWNS)
The crabs seemingly carve out a piece of sponge that sits loosely on their back, giving them the look of a Cornish Pasty (Ian Jepson / SWNS)

"We caught it six miles off Perranporth and were delighted. You don't see them often, so it was lovely to see.

"Afterwards we carefully and slowly returned it so the sponge remained on its back

"I’m not too sure if they are actually called sponge crabs, but we have always called them that.

"They seem to carve out a piece of sponge which is loose fitting on their backs.

"We only usually get one every year or two, but this summer we have had five already."

Earlier this year, a man hooked a 500lbs shark off the Cornish Coat.

Kevin Finch, 30, caught the monster porbeagle shark after fighting for about an hour to reel the whopping catch in towards his 17ft long boat.

This crab resembles the local crimped and baked favourite (Ian Jepson / SWNS)

It measured 10ft long and had a girth of 8ft, giving it a calculated weight of 500lbs or 35st.

The porbeagle shark, a relative of the great white, was one of the biggest ever caught in British waters.

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