A routine haul in Ipswich Bay turned into something far from ordinary for Rockport lobsterman Sam Favaloro, who pulled up a blue female lobster from one of his traps on Sunday. It marks the third blue lobster pulled up in Rockport this year, a striking run of odds-defying catches for the small fishing town.
Favaloro pulled the blue lobster from one of his traps in Ipswich Bay, according to the Gloucester Daily Times.
The Eagle-Tribune reported Favaloro's blue-lobster catch. Blue lobsters occur in the wild about once in every two million lobsters, according to the New England Aquarium. The Gloucester Daily Times reports that a blue lobster's underside features several distinctive spots on top of its blue shell.
What Turns a Lobster Blue
According to the Gloucester Daily Times, citing NOAA Fisheries, lobsters can turn blue because of a genetic mutation or from deficiencies in their diet. The Woods Hole Science Aquarium notes that some lobsters are born blue due to genetic mutation while others turn bluish from dietary shortfalls, and in either case the shell is the only part that carries the blue tint. The lobster's meat does not turn blue and tastes the same as usual, the article notes.
Rarity estimates for these color mutations vary widely by hue. The New England Aquarium has said blue lobsters occur naturally in about one in two million lobsters in the wild, while yellow and calico lobsters turn up in roughly one in 30 million and orange lobsters in about one in 20 million. The aquarium has said it has received several rare-colored lobsters from fishermen and retail outlets over the years.
A Pattern on the Rockport Docks
Fellow Rockport lobsterman Mike Tupper has pulled up two similar lobsters, according to the Gloucester Daily Times and the Eagle-Tribune. Tupper caught the second lobster about 10 minutes after the first.
Other Rare Finds Along the Massachusetts Coast
Rockport and Gloucester have turned up more than their share of unusual lobsters over the years. A rare orange-and-black calico lobster nicknamed Jackie, caught off the Massachusetts coast, was taken to Northeastern University's Marine Science Center and described by NBC Boston as a one-in-30-million find. The same center is also home to a blue lobster named Neptune.
Years earlier, Kevin O'Maley and his crew caught a blue lobster just off the Breakwater and planned to bring it to the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center so the community could see it, according to Good Morning Gloucester. Favaloro's latest catch adds one more entry to that long local history of lobstermen hauling up something stranger than the usual green-and-brown shell.
