Massachusetts Restaurant Shows Off Rare Blue Lobster

blue lobster found in restaurant's seafood shipment

The owner of a seafood restaurant in Eastham, Massachusetts was feeling a little blue after he got an unexpected visitor in his lobster shipment this week.

Nathan Nickerson III tells CNN that he couldn't believe the crustacean's color of when he saw the rare lobster in his seafood shipment.

"I said, 'I think we have something special here.' I couldn't believe the color," Nickerson told CNN. "Everyone was circling around it, just wondering, 'How did this happen?'"

Nickerson says he plans on keeping the rare lobster on display for about a week in hopes of inspiring his young customers to have a better appreciation for marine life. Nickerson says he plans to donate the specimen to the St. Louis aquarium when it opens later this year.

"I'd like to give the blue lobster to the St. Louis aquarium out of respect to the St. Louis Blues, who won the championship, to show that Bruins fans have class," Nickerson said. "We want this lobster to stay alive and stay safe."

Most lobsters appear to be a reddish or greenish brown color when they're fresh. Lobster shells don't achieve that red look until they're cooked. About one in every two million lobsters may get a blue color thanks to a genetic mutation responsible for the lobster producing an excessive amount of a particular protein that turns its shell a blue color. Some lobsters can appear yellow, or in even rarer cases (1 in 100 million), completely albino, entirely lacking in colored pigments.

Photo: Nathan Nickerson III/Arnold's Lobster & Clam Bar


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