Blue Lobster Information

Blue lobsters are a rare crustacean native to the North American seaboard. Blue lobsters get their color from an excessive production of a protein, called astaxanthin. The protein combines with the lobsters' red molecules. When these two chemicals combine, they create crustacyanin, the carotenoprotein that gives lobsters their color.

Ratio

About 70 million pounds of lobster are caught every year. About one lobster in 5 million is blue.

Colors

Lobsters also come in colors such as white, yellow, gray, orange and greenish-brown. With the exception of the albino lobster, all colors turn red once the creatures are boiled. A blue lobster has no difference in flavor from any other color lobster.

Molting

All lobsters molt--or shed and reproduce their shells--up to a dozen times a year. Every time a blue lobster molts, its color becomes a brighter blue.

Life Span

The average life span of a lobster, including the blue variety, is about 50. However, some lobsters have been determined to be much older according to their size when captured.

Pets

As blue lobsters are rare, most varieties found in pet stores are actually blue crayfish. These creatures can also be sold under the name spiny blue lobsters and grow to be about 14 inches long.

References

• NEFSC
• Funk and Wagnalls; Wagnalls; 1986
• Lucky the Lobster