Current:Home > ScamsExtremely rare blue lobster found off coast of English village: "Absolutely stunning"-InfoLens
Extremely rare blue lobster found off coast of English village: "Absolutely stunning"
View Date:2024-12-23 11:46:43
It was anything but your typical catch. An English fisherman found an extremely rare sea creature in one of his traps over the weekend – an electric blue lobster.
Chris Puckey told CBS News partner BBC that he discovered the bright blue crustacean off the coast of the fishing village of Polperro in southern Cornwall. Blue lobsters are believed to be about one in two million occurrences in the ocean, according to the New England Aquarium.
Andrew Hebda, former curator of zoology at the Museum of Natural History in Nova Scotia, previously told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that a lobster is like a painting.
"You're doing some water colors and you take a bit of blue, you take a bit of yellow, you take a bit of red and you take a bit of green and poof, mix them all together and what do you have? Mud. Which is what your normal lobster is," he said. "What happened here is that we don't seem to have those other three pigments in there… you're looking at a genetic mutation that has suppressed those colors."
Jacqueline Spencer, a fishmonger and owner of Kitty's Lobster, Crab & Seafood Shack, which serves locally caught seafood in Polperro, told the BBC that Puckey called her after discovering the catch.
"After short deliberation ... we decided that rather than returning it to the sea because we were concerned that it may get caught again in another pot or even be eaten by another lobster, that we would try to secure it somewhere that it could live out its life peacefully and be protected by predators," Spencer told the BBC.
So Spencer contacted a local aquarium, and "they jumped at the chance to rehome it."
Spencer said that the lobster is a female and would have sold for about £25 (roughly $31) given its weight, saying she "paid the lobster fisherman very well for that lobster."
"It's a vivid blue color," she said. "It's absolutely stunning."
Last September, a rare periwinkle blue lobster was caught in Marblehead, Massachusetts. That same month, a blue lobster was found in France.
- In:
- United Kingdom
- Blue Lobster
Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.
veryGood! (93)
Related
- Deion Sanders addresses trash thrown at team during Colorado's big win at Texas Tech
- Denver Nuggets defeat Miami Heat for franchise's first NBA title
- S Club 7 Shares Tearful Update on Reunion Tour After Paul Cattermole’s Death
- Kylie Jenner Shares Never-Before-Seen Photos of Kids Stormi and Aire on Mother's Day
- 3 Iraqis tortured at Abu Ghraib win $42M judgement against defense contractor
- Qantas on Brink of £200m Biojet Fuel Joint Venture
- Author Aubrey Gordon Wants To Debunk Myths About Fat People
- It’s Not Just Dakota Access. Many Other Fossil Fuel Projects Delayed or Canceled, Too
- Volunteer firefighter accused of setting brush fire on Long Island
- 1 person dead after shooting inside Washington state movie theater
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Red Velvet, Please
- Ohio’s Struggling Manufacturing Sector Finds Clean Energy Clientele
- Thwarted Bingaman Still Eyeing Clean Energy Standard in Next Congress
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get a $300 Packable Tote Bag for Just $69
- Eminem, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, N.W.A. and Janet Jackson get Songwriters Hall of Fame nods
- Qantas on Brink of £200m Biojet Fuel Joint Venture
- Denver Nuggets defeat Miami Heat for franchise's first NBA title
- Social isolation linked to an increased risk of dementia, new study finds
Recommendation
-
Catholic bishops urged to boldly share church teachings — even unpopular ones
-
China Wins Approval for Giant Dam Project in World Heritage Site
-
Take a Bite Out of The Real Housewives of New York City Reboot's Drama-Filled First Trailer
-
The FDA no longer requires all drugs to be tested on animals before human trials
-
Seattle man faces 5 assault charges in random sidewalk stabbings
-
More than half of employees are disengaged, or quiet quitting their jobs
-
1 person dead after shooting inside Washington state movie theater
-
Amy Klobuchar on Climate Change: Where the Candidate Stands