Rare ‘cotton candy lobster’ caught in Maine

Author: CBS News Staff
Published:
“Cotton candy” lobster. Courtesy of Get Maine Lobster

A lobsterman made the catch of a lifetime off the coast of Maine last weekend. Bill Coppersmith trapped a 1-in-100 million iridescent lobster, also known as a “cotton candy” lobster, CBS Boston reports.

Coppersmith has been fishing for 40 years but has never had a catch like the one he made in Casco Bay. He named it Haddie, after his granddaughter.

Haddie will not end up on a plate — right now the crustacean is hanging in a tank at Get Maine Lobster in Portland until a permanent home at an aquarium can be found.

The color change is the result of a rare genetic mutation that is not considered helpful to the lobster because they aren’t able to blend in with their environment.

“Cotton candy” lobster compared to a “regular” lobster. Courtesy of Get Maine Lobster

There have been some other stunning catches in New England waters this year. A Boston seafood company caught a similarly rare albino lobster off the Maine coast in February. And in July, a fisherman in Gloucester, Massachusetts, pulled an unusual blue lobster out of the ocean.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.