BDN cites Bayer, Lobster Institute in article on white lobster caught in Gulf of Maine
The Bangor Daily News spoke with Bob Bayer, executive director of the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute, for an article about a white lobster that was caught last week off the north side of Maine’s Chebeague Island. Albino lobsters, which are totally devoid of pigment and would remain white even when cooked, are vanishingly rare, according Bayer. While most lobsters are a brownish green, there are other naturally occurring shell colors that lobsters pass along to offspring, according to the article. About one in every 10 million live lobsters has a red shell, one in about 30 million has a yellow or calico-spotted shell, and other color combinations are even more rare, according to the Lobster Institute. Albino lobsters are about one in 100 million, the article states. Bayer said the lobster that was recently caught probably wasn’t a true albino, but possibly blue, which is relatively more common — about one in 2 million. When blue lobsters molt, their new shells initially appear whitish and only gain the bright blue color over time as the crustaceans pick up pigment from their food, he said, noting a faint blue hue in photos of the lobster. Tech Times also quoted Bayer, and WGME (Channel 13 in Portland) carried the BDN report.