Robinson Russell has been fishing for lobster for over 20 years but he’s never seen a lobster like the one he caught last November.
The lobster had a shell that he could only describe as “cotton candy”. Translucent blue with hints of purple and white, the lobster was a far cry from the usual red ones he catches in around the waters of New Brunswick, Canada.
Russell immediately knew the lobster he nicknamed “Lucky” was rare – one in a million even. But it turns out Lucky was far rarer than that. One in 100 million, in fact, according to researchers with the Lobster Institute at the University of Maine.
Lucky’s rare shell pigmentation is likely caused by a genetic mutation.
Russell couldn’t let “Lucky” end up as dinner, so he posted a few photos on Instagram and ended up donating it to the Huntsman Marine Aquarium in St. Andrews. The aquarium and scientific research center has unique animals from the Bay of Fundy to help educate the public about the local marine eco-system.
Many unusual colored lobsters do end up returned to the wild by fishermen.
One man who buys lobsters for a living commented, “As a lobster buyer for the past five years, what I can say is that whenever any different lobsters passed through our dock, they were saved and kept in our tanks till the end of the season and were released back into the water. I’ve seen and safely kept blues, calico, ghost and big boys to be released back into the wild.”
Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links.