Woodbridge, Va. –– Though lobsters are not indigenous to the Potomac River some did wash up on the shores of Leesylvania State Park over the weekend.
As it turns out, officials at the state park in Woodbridge believe they were put there by a local church with a large Asian congregation following the Chinese New Year.
“Some members of a church come to the park each year and release their ancestors back into the water. Unfortunately, the water is too cold for them and they end up swimming back to the shore and dying,” said Leesylvania Chief Ranger Sarah Phillips.
We don’t know which church releases the crustaceans into the Potomac, and it doesn’t appear they’re breaking any law by doing so.
Those who take part in the lobster-release ceremony usually come dressed in traditional wears, said Phillips.
The dead lobsters don’t lay on the sand for long, as fishermen quickly come to collect them to later use them for bait.
At least 10 lobsters washed up on the shore at the park.
“We’ve gotten a lot of calls about them, and it must has slipped my mind that it was this time of year again,” said Phillips.
