Rare blue lobster found off US coast
The animal will escape the boiling pot for a museum in the north eastern state
A blue lobster caught off the north eastern coast of the US has avoided the dinner plate and is instead headed for an aquarium.
Lobsterman Jay LaPlante was hauling traps with his 14-year-old daughter Meghan in Scarborough, Maine, on Saturday morning when they caught the creature.
At around 10:45am, Meghan spotted the rare a 2lb (900g) lobster among their catch.
Meghan has since named the crustacean Skyler, and donated it to the Main State Aquarium in West Boothbay Harbour.
Staff at the facility told local broadcaster WCSH6 that in Skyler’s new home, there will be plenty of company.
At the aquarium, it will join 3 other blue lobsters and an orange one in a tank. Those in the area who would like to visit the lobster can do so 7 days a week, from 10-5pm.
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While lobsters are usually brown, orange or dark green, a genetic defect causes one in every two million lobsters to have a blue shell, according to scientists.
In June a fisherman in Wales spotted a blue lobster, while in 2012 another fisherman caught one off the coast of Nova Scotia.
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