While a blue moon is a rare event, a blue lobster is even more rare. Canadian fisherman Bobby Stoddard had the pleasure of finding one though. Stoddard and his crew were hauling in their usual cache of lobsters off the coast of Nova Scotia last month, when they encountered the azure oddity.
“This is the only one that I’ve ever seen,” Stoddard told CNN. “And my dad has been a lobsterman of about 55 years, and he caught one about 45 years ago, but hadn’t seen one since.”
According to the University of Maine Lobster Institute, blue lobsters are a one-in-2-million phenomenon. A genetic variation causes the lobster to produce an excessive amount of a particular protein that gives it that cerulean color.
Stoddard offered his find to a nearby ocean research institute, but “they didn’t seem too interested,” Stoddard said.
For now, the male crustacean is residing in a cold holding tank at Stoddard’s business, feeding on bits of fish and mollusks.
Special thanks to fellow blogger and animal lover Spencer Angel.
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