Catching an albino lobster is incredibly rare. A genetic condition called Leucism causes near-complete loss of pigment in lobsters, and it’s an extremely rare condition that exists in about 1-in-1 MILLION lobsters in the wild. A fisherman from Chebeague Island, Maine who has had his lobster license since he was 6 years old just landed one of the 1-in-1 million albino lobsters, but instead of keeping the bug he tossed it back.
Alex Todd is a 10th generation lobster fisherman, according to ABC News. Alex Todd immediatley knew how rare the albino lobster was when he pulled it out of the water, but he chose to toss it back.
Why? The lobster was a female, meaning that it was a breeder. Alex threw the lobster back so that it could lay eggs and give birth to the next generation of lobster that will fill his traps. Here’s what he had to say about the rare catch: “It was really different and really cool. Even if it had been male, it’s an oddity enough that, why cook it for a $4 lobster?”
Rare white 'translucent' lobster caught by Maine fisherman who threw it back into ocean because it was female. https://t.co/vZlXajuHfd pic.twitter.com/1trxra7kpW
— ABC News (@ABC) September 1, 2017
Alex lives on the secluded Chebeague Island which is only accessible via boat and takes about an hour and a half on the ferry from Portland, Maine. Everything on Chebeague is lobster themed. You drive around the island and all you see are yards littered with old lobster pots. The one Inn/Hotel on the island serves up a mean lobster chowder. Living on an island that revolves around lobster, I think it’s safe to say that fisherman Alex Todd is the cock of the walk these days.
As rare as the albino lobster is at 1-in-1 million, it’s still not the rarest type of lobster in the ocean. The blue lobster is 1-in-2 million, and this is the rarest lobster in the ocean right here.