Rare blue lobster caught by father-son duo off Maine coast
A father and son caught a rare, blue lobster named “Lucky Blue” that biologists say is a ‘one-in-2-million’ discovery.
Scott L. Hall, USA TODAY
A father and son fishing in Maine caught a bright blue lobster marine biologists say is a rare, 1-in-2-million sea discovery.
The crustacean – named “Lucky Blue” – was caught in ocean waters beyond Peaks Island off the southeast portion of the state, said Becky Rand, whose son, Luke Rand, caught the lobster last week.
Luke Rand, 36, is sternman on his dad’s boat, the Audrey B. Rand, his mother told USA TODAY on Tuesday.
And his mom says it’s not the first time he has caught a colorful lobster with his father.
The two, she said, have also caught rare calico and orange lobsters over the years.
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Luke and his mother live in Falmouth, a small town just north of Portland. She said her son has been lobstering on his father’s boat off and on since he was 8 years old.
His father, Mark Rand, has been fishing for more than 60 years, she said.
“We’ve never pulled one this color or even seen one to throw back,” Luke Rand told the Portland Press Herald.
He told the outlet the lobster is a male, legal-size, healthy crustacean.
“This was a keeper,” his mother said Tuesday. “If it’s a female or if its not a big enough male they have to throw it back.”
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Plans to return ‘Lucky Blue’ home
The lobster is now in a tank on display at his mother’s waterfront restaurant in Portland, Becky’s Diner.
“We’re throwing it back in two weeks,” she said. “But for now we thought the kids would enjoy it at an aquarium close to home. We named him ‘Lucky Blue’ because he’s going back in the water and not going to be boiled.”
According to the New England Aquarium, wild blue lobsters are about a 1-in-2-million find. The aquarium got its own resident blue lobster in February 2020 and has had resident lobsters of other colors, including orange and calico.
The aquarium has received several rare colored lobsters from fishermen and retail outlets over the years, including a yellow and a calico lobster, both of which occur naturally in about 1 in 30 million lobsters. It also has received an orange lobster, which occurs in about 1 in 20 million lobsters, according to the aquarium’s website.
In addition, it has received a highly rare half-black-half-orange “Halloween” lobster, which occurs in the wild at an incidence of 1 in 50 million, according to the aquarium, where colorful lobsters are on display for visitors. Lobsters are usually brown and turn red when they are cooked.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
