An eco-activist who attempted to free a lobster from a restaurant by throwing it into the sea has likely killed the animal, its owner has revealed.
Emma Smart is said to have thought the crayfish at Catch at the Old Fish Market in Weymouth, Dorset was a lobster set to be served when she removed it from its tank and threw it into the sea in April 2025.
But the sea creature likely died as soon as it hit the water because of the change in water temperature, restaurateur Sean Cooper has revealed.
And Smart may have inadvertently caused another animal death, with the pair – named Ronnie and Reggie – kept as pets.
The duo were used for “educational purposes” and had been kept in their tank for a “couple of years”.
“Crayfish are unusual in these waters. The local fishermen had caught them, we had taken them into the tank and when parents come into the fish shop with their children, they get to see unusual fish and shellfish,” Mr Cooper told the BBC.
The restaurant owner said after the crayfish was freed, its companion died shortly afterwards.
“I don’t know if the loss of its mate had an impact on that,” Mr Cooper said.
Smart’s lobster escapade is not her first run-in with the law
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PASmart pleaded guilty to criminal damage and received an eight-month conditional discharge along with a three-year restraining order from the Michelin guide restaurant.
But Mr Cooper admitted he was “deeply disappointed” with the outcome of the case.
Smart was initially charged with unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, theft and assault, but was ultimately sentenced for just a lesser plea of criminal damage.
Mr Cooper said: “To have those charges effectively dropped in favour of a minor plea is very hard to accept.”
The lobster grabbed by Emma Smart was one of two in the tank (file photo)
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He said it was hard to accept the change in charges, and disagreed with how it handled.
He said: “The travesty of the whole thing is that the animal will have died the second it hit the water.
“The force with which Emma Smart threw the animal into the harbour would almost certainly have killed it.
“She has thrown it in an overarm throw, like a cricket ball. There was no gentle release, she has thrown it with great force.
“The temperature in the tank is vastly different from in the harbour. The sudden change in water temperature alone, that thermal shock will have killed that animal.”
Ms Smart previously campaigned for Insulate Britain and faced legal action for violation an injunction
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PAIt was not Smart’s first run-in with the law – she had previously been arrested in 2022 as she attempted to speak to Sir David Attenborough, who was dining at the same restaurant.
And in November 2021 she served four months for violating an injunction during an Insulate Britain demonstration.
Catch restaurant has won awards for its commitment to sustainable fishing and Mr Cooper said Smart’s campaign against the restaurant was “misguided”.
He told the BBC: “The whole reason for the restaurant is to celebrate that fishing community in Weymouth.
“This is everything we exist for, therefore, to be targeted by somebody who is ignorant and misguided around what we are doing is particularly upsetting.”