Lobsterman Tim Harrison had no idea how rare the sapphire-colored crustacean he pulled from the water earlier this month was.
The boat skipper for Epic Fishing Trips who caught the blue lobster 1 mile off the west coast of New Quay, Wales, took a few photos before tossing the rare and beautiful gem back into the bay.
“We have never seen a Lobster this color before, amazing sapphire blue,” Harrison told Britain’s ITV. “It’s even got blue antennae, wow. It came up in one of our lobster pots that are lifted on our private trips. I guess I was a bit in awe of it, it was an epic moment, an epic catch!”
“I had no idea at the time it was so rare, it’s been released and is still out there somewhere!”
Lobsters are typically a murky greeny-brown in color. They do not come in the bright-red variety while they’re alive; they turn that reddish or orangey-pink color only after they are cooked. The blue variety exist due to a genetic defect that propagates a certain protein in excessive amounts.
It’s impossible to say exactly how rare blue lobsters are. One in two million are the odds that have been widely touted in the media. The University of Maine Lobster Institute has corroborated these odds as well, according to the BBC. It’s just a “guess,” though, according to the Institute’s executive director, Rob Bayer.
A similarly sapphire-colored lobster was found in North Shields, England, in March, and it was brought in alive and became the talk of the town, with locals stopping in to catch a peek.
“He is now sitting pride of place in my lobster tank!” said fish merchant Tony McLean.
An even rarer catch took place in 2016 when Canadian fishermen hauled in two of the incredibly rare lobsters in one weekend, which according to the men was blue from torso to the tips of their whiskers. One of the lobstermen, Scott McKinnon, said that they planned to release the lobsters after the season ends in mid-July.
Both Canadian and British lobstermen alike traditionally believe the cerulean crustaceans to be signs of good luck. Finding two in one weekend ought to seal that bargain in abundance for years to come.
Michael Wing is a writer and editor based in Calgary, Canada, where he was born and educated in the arts. He writes mainly on culture, human interest, and trending news.
