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…