Recently, a group of fishmongers at Les Viviers de Noirmoutier made an extremely rare catch off the coast of western France. In fact, this catch is so rare, the odds of finding one are one in two million.
What is this catch, you ask? A blue lobster. It’s not every day you come across something as rare and stunning as this.
The compassionate people at Les Viviers decided to spare this beautiful creature and collaborate with the Île d’Yeu tourism office to identify a suitable habitat for its release where fishing is prohibited, ensuring that it can live out its life undisturbed.
They are now asking their Facebook followers to come up with a fitting nickname for the gorgeous crustacean.
Typically, lobsters are brown in colour while alive and turn bright red when cooked. However, some anomalies do exist – such as this stunning sapphire-coloured lobster from France. This unusual hue comes from genetic mutation which causes cells layered within its shell to produce a specific pigment.
Although these colourful animals capture attention, they all ultimately turn red when subjected to boiling water – unless they are white or albino lobsters which are far more rare (estimated once in 100 million lobsters).
The New England Aquarium received its own blue lobster in 2020 and other instances have been reported since then including one discovered by a father-son fishing duo in Casco Bay, Maine in 2022. Given how rare these creatures are, it’s no wonder why there has been much interest surrounding their discovery.
Despite their captivating colours, all lobsters turn red when cooked – except white and albino ones which only occur once in 100 million cases according to researchers.
It’s likely that many have taken advantage of this opportunity to learn more about them too through research and conservation efforts.
Here’s hoping we hear about many more fascinating discoveries like this one soon.
