Patch ran an article earlier this month about a glut of Maine lobsters of the one of New England’s most cherished delicacies. What we’re learning is that a number of those extra lobsters are lobsters of a different color.
The Associated Press reported that lobstermen fishing the cold waters off Maine and Canada are reporting more calico, two-toned, blue, orange, yellow and albino lobsters than in past years.
But, while news anchors at WLBZ in Bangor, Maine did not confirm how tasty a blue or 20-lb lobster would actually be they did show video of a “rainbow of lobsters” and big lobsters.
Caroline Cornish, of WLBZ, reported that we are hearing more reports of odd and extra big lobsters but she quelled suspicions and said that as lobster hauls increase, so too does the probability of catching one of the odd lobsters.
The Christian Science Monitor reported that the overall lobster harvest is soaring.
“In Maine, the catch has grown fourfold in the past 20 years, to nearly 105 million pounds last year. If the yield has quadrupled, it would make sense to have four times as many unconventional lobsters being caught as well.”
In 2007, a 1.5-lbs. blue lobster was caught at the mouth of the Thames River in New London and the lucky catch was donated to the Mystic Aquarium to “live out its days in an elementary classroom.”
Social media has increased awareness of the ocean oddities and there may actually be more out there nowadays.
Diane Cowan, executive director of The Lobster Conservancy in Friendship, Maine said in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor that the crazy-looking crustaceans are more susceptible to predators because they stick out more on the ocean bottom, rather than blending in like normal ones.
"But with the predator population down, notably cod, there might be greater survival rates among these color morphs that are visually easier to pick out," she said.
And, according to the Bob Bayer, executive director of the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute, diners wouldn’t notice a difference in taste.
