A Maine fisherman says he caught a rare, nearly transparent ‘ghost lobster,’ then threw the crustacean into the ocean because it was too small to keep.
Mike Billings hauled in the lobster Tuesday morning off the coast of Stonington.
The odds of catching an albino or “ghost” lobster are 100 million to 1.
The lobster’s unique coloration is likely due to a genetic condition that results in partial loss of pigmentation called leucism.
A Maine fisherman caught an extremely rare ‘ghost’ lobster. It will not be eaten due to its size.
Billings says he took pictures of the lobster and then threw it into the ocean according to The Portland Press Herald.
He said the lobster was too small to stay, so he threw it overboard.
The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association wrote: “This lobster likely has a genetic condition called leucism which is not a complete loss of pigment (which would make it albino) but a partial loss.”
“That’s why you can still see some hints of blue in the shell and color in the eyes.”
Adding: ‘A normal lobster gets its color by mixing yellow, blue and red protein pigments.
Mike Billings said he threw in a translucent white lobster he caught on Tuesday
‘Through different genetic mutations you can obtain a blue, yellow or red lobster (uncooked). You can also get strange mixtures of those colors.’
This isn’t Billings’ first encounter with rare lobsters, as he previously caught a blue lobster in 2014. A rare calico lobster in 2014, the same year he caught one with a blue claw.
The claw claw appeared to be small for the size of the lobster, meaning that the original claw was probably destroyed and a blue claw regenerated in its place. The same year, he caught a rare calico lobster.
The albino lobster appears translucent because it has no pigment in its shell.