Mythical sea creatures are the stuff social media trends are made of, so it came as no surprise when pictures of an incredibly rare “ghost” lobster quickly went viral over the weekend.
Thankfully, the iridescent crustacean was back home in Maine waters by the time she started trending.
A strange object was retrieved from the ocean on August 24 by 48-year-old lobsterman Alex Todd. The days of the haul were both typical, but as soon as the trap was taken out of the water, Todd told, “the weird lobster was evident.” Todd was only able to think that the remarkable crab he was holding was one in a billion as he touched the extraordinary creature.
Todd has spent his whole life pulling up traps off the shore of Chebeague Island, Maine, having acquired his grandfather’s commercial lobster license when he was just 6 years old. Todd is a 10th generation lobsterman. He had spent a lot of time fishing, but he had never seen anything like the pearly white, nearly transparent lobster that shimmered with blue undertones.
The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association published this on Facebook: “While most lobsters caught in Northeastern seas are of a brownish-red tint, genetic abnormalities can cause crabs to differ in color.”
“The color of a typical lobster is created by combining proteins with yellow, blue, and red pigments. You can obtain a blue, yellow, or red lobster through several genetic mutations. Additionally, those colors may be combined in odd ways to create.
After snapping a few photos, Todd returned the remarkable lobster back to the waters.
“It was a v-notched female — which means it had eggs at one time and thus must be set free to breed,” Todd said. “That’s why I had to throw it back.”
V-notching, the process of marking the tail flipper of egg-bearing female lobsters, has been a means of protecting the lobster population from harvest in Maine since the early 1900s. With the number of baby lobsters mysteriously on the decline, it is increasingly important to continue to protect these animals.
Todd insists that it wasn’t just the fact that the lobster was a potential mom that made him return her to the sea. “Being as unusual as it is, I wouldn’t have sold or cooked it either way,” he said.
Now, the beautiful lobster will be free to live another 100 years — completely unaware of her viral fame.
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