Rare blue lobster caught in Marblehead, a 'one in two million' find

Fishmongers who found a rare blue lobster decided to spare the cool crustacean and release it instead of selling it. Les Viviers de Noirmoutier, a seafood retailer in France, said in a Facebook post there is a one in 2 million chance to find a blue lobster – and they just happened upon one.

The fish mongers worked with the tourism office on the Île d'Yeu to find a new home for the small female lobster. The small French island is just off the coast of Saint-Gilles, where Les Viviers de Noirmoutie is located. 

They were able to find an area on the island that does not allow fishing, and will release the blue lobster there "so that it can live a long, peaceful and happy life," the Facebook post reads. 

Nous avons fait notre maximum afin d’acquérir ce splendide homard bleu (d’ailleurs c’est une petite femelle), pour...

Posted by Les Viviers de Noirmoutier on Saturday, September 16, 2023

Les Viviers de Noirmoutier said they still want to give the lobster a nickname and asked for suggestions in the comments of the post. 

Lobsters are usually brownish and turn bright red when they are cooked, but in some rare cases, people have found orange and blue lobsters. These colors are always layered in lobsters' shells, according to the Smithsonian. 

An orange lobster was found in a shipment at a Red Lobster restaurant in Hollywood, Florida, last year, and the staff went on a mission to save the lobster. The orange animal was named Cheddar and brought to Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach.

At the time, the aquarium told CBS News it was a one in 30 million discovery. "Cheddar's vibrant shell is caused by a genetic mutation that causes it to produce more of a particular protein than other lobsters," Ripley's said. 

Blue lobsters are one in 2 million, according to the New England Aquarium, which received its own blue lobster in 2020. 

In 2022, a father-son duo found a blue lobster while fishing in Casco Bay, Maine – and although it is rare, it wasn't the first in the state. In 2021, a lobsterman in the same bay found a lobster with a blue cotton candy-like hue, according to Smithsonian Magazine. And in 2014, a 14-year-old and her father caught a blue lobster in Portland. 

Lobsters can look blue, yellow or even a mix of colors, but will turn red when they are cooked, according to the University of Maine's Lobster Institute. That is, unless they're white or albino lobsters.

An even rarer white lobster was found off the coast of Maine in 2021 by James Hook and Company, which said it was a one in 100 million find.

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Caitlin O'Kane

Caitlin O'Kane is a digital content producer covering trending stories for CBS News and its good news brand, The Uplift.