At first, Sheldon Trenholm of South River, Nova Scotia didn’t know what it was. Then he realized the bright blue thing thrashing in his trap with seven or eight lobsters, was indeed another lobster.
Trenholm caught the rare crustacean in waters near Antigonish on Friday. According to research based out of the University of Maine, the odds of catching a blue lobster in North America are about one in two million. The blue colouration is caused by a genetic defect that causes the lobster to produce an excessive amount of a particular protein that gives the lobster the unique colour.
Stories of blue, orange, pink or two-coloured lobsters are more common in the Maritimes these days. According to lobster biologist Robert MacMillan, technology is making it easier for fishermen to share the news of the unusual catch.
Trenholm took a few pictures of his blue lobster, showed it to a few friends and then threw it back in the ocean, because it was too small to keep.
With files from the CBC.