"I've Never Seen Anything Like This"... English Fisherman Catches '1 in 2 Million' Rare Blue Lobster

Blue lobster caught by fisherman Tom Rambon (25). Photo by National Lobster Hatchery UK Facebook

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] A rare blue lobster, which is said to appear with a probability of one in two million, was caught in Penzance, a coastal town in Cornwall, southwestern England.

According to British media on the 21st (local time), local fisherman Tom Lambon (25) recently found a lobster with an unusual color that he had never seen before caught in a fishing net he had set in the sea. Lambon said, "This is the first time I've seen such a lobster. I was lucky."

However, he thought the lobster was too small a juvenile to bring ashore, so after taking a photo, he released it back into the sea. He explained, "I sent the photo to the artificial hatchery, and they said it was a very special lobster that appears with a probability of one in two million. If it had been a little bigger, I would have taken it to the hatchery, but it was too small."

Blue lobster caught by fisherman Tom Rambon (25). Photo by National Lobster Hatchery UK Facebook

Ben Marshall, manager of the UK National Lobster Hatchery, said, "Blue lobsters are very rare," adding, "Because they are difficult to camouflage and have a high chance of being found as prey by predators, their numbers are low."

Marshall stated, "However, according to Cornwall's policy prohibiting the capture of fish under 12 inches, it was released."

According to research by Professor Ronald Christensen of the University of Connecticut in 2005, the distinctive color of such blue lobsters is known to be due to a 'genetic defect.'

Normally, lobsters have astaxanthin, which causes the red color, existing in the body as a pigment protein bound to proteins, but in the case of blue lobsters, due to a genetic defect, the body's proteins are overproduced, causing the blue color to be more prominently expressed than the red color of astaxanthin.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.