Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Maine Lobstermen Catch Rare, Yellow Lobsters

068119405_lobster.jpgA visitor at Percy's General Store on Popham Beach is the talk of the town. It's a rare yellow lobster, hauled up Monday morning by David Percy. David caught th lobster near Whaleback Island at the mouth of the Kennebec River. But he's not the only lobsterman who found a surprise in his traps in the past few days. Just last week, Shane Hatch found a yellow lobster in a trap he set near Rockland. Scientists say the odds of finding a yellow lobster are in the millions.

"Well, its actually about one in thirty million. So its actually thirty times rarer than a blue lobster. And its just a color morph that happens to be a rare," said Jonathan Grabowski from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

Shane Hatch's catch is now at the Rockland Cafe. David Percy plans to return his lobster to the deep blue sea later this week. He says maybe another lobsterman will then get a chance to have the same surprise he did. All this talk about lobster couldn't come at a better time. The popular Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland begins Wednesday. -wcsh

1 comment:

Susan Graham said...

We photographed a blue and a yellow lobster about 2 weeks ago in Burnt Cove, Maine at the grocery store.
The two of them were headed to someone who will keep them alive and where they can be seen, according to the man at the market. They will never be sold.