|
 Meghan LaPlante, 14, said she and her father pulled in the vivid
blue crustacean from one of their traps on Saturday.
"It definitely stood out," LaPlante said on Monday. "We were really
surprised. I've never caught anything like it."
LaPlante helps her father run the family's Miss Meghan's Lobster
Catch business in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
The blue color is the result of a rare genetic mutation that causes
the lobster to produce an excessive amount of a particular protein.
Most lobsters are dark bluish green to greenish brown. Scientists
estimate the blue coloring occurs in only one out of 2 million
lobsters.
LaPlante and her father have agreed to donate the lobster to the
Maine State Aquarium.
LaPlante said she named the lobster "Skyler" for its blue color, and
because it's one of her favorite names.
(Reporting by Ted Siefer; Editing by Paul Simao)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
 |
