Maine Lobstermen Catch Rare, Yellow Lobsters

A visitor at Percy’s General Store on Popham Beach is the talk of the town. It’s a rare yellow lobster, hauled up Monday morning by David Percy. David caught th lobster near Whaleback Island at the mouth of the Kennebec River. But he’s not the only lobsterman who found a surprise in his traps in the past few days. Just last week, Shane Hatch found a yellow lobster in a trap he set near Rockland. Scientists say the odds of finding a yellow lobster are in the millions.

“Well, its actually about one in thirty million. So its actually thirty times rarer than a blue lobster. And its just a color morph that happens to be a rare,” said Jonathan Grabowski from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

Shane Hatch’s catch is now at the Rockland Cafe. David Percy plans to return his lobster to the deep blue sea later this week. He says maybe another lobsterman will then get a chance to have the same surprise he did. All this talk about lobster couldn’t come at a better time. The popular Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland begins Wednesday. -wcsh