Above: Rare blue lobster finds home at UMass Dartmouth
LITTLE COMPTON, R.I. (WPRI) — A Rhode Island lobsterman made an extremely rare catch Thursday.
Sakonnet Lobster Co.’s Douglas Mataronas told NewsNation affiliate WPRI that his older brother captured a bright orange lobster, more commonly known as a “golden lobster.”
It’s unclear exactly where Mataronas’ brother caught the lobster or what he plans to do with it. Right now, Mataronas said it is hanging out in the lobster tank at their Little Compton seafood market.
This is not the first time a golden lobster has been spotted in the Ocean State this year. Workers at a Warwick grocery store discovered one mixed in with a seafood delivery back in July, and another was found in a shipment sent to a Newport restaurant in May.
Those lobsters were both donated to Biomes Marine Biology Center in North Kingstown, which is also home to a rare “powder blue lobster.”
The funky-colored crustaceans are the result of a genetic mutation that happens roughly 1 in every 30 million lobsters.