HUDSON, Fla. — Two rare orange lobsters were delivered to a seafood market in Hudson.
Lori Nilon, a manager at Whitney’s Seafood Market, said employees discovered the lobsters in their weekly shipment.
“This shipment of lobsters that we get…they come from Maine and they’re called water lobsters. We just noticed these two lobsters come in one day with our shipment and they’re odd balls,” said Lori Nilon.
The chances of finding an orange lobster are said to be one in 30 million.
The Clearwater Marine Aquarium will be taking the two lobsters to keep at the aquarium. Their bright, unique coloring makes them attractive to predators, including eels, crabs, seals and rock gunnels.
“Typically lobsters tend to be like a muddy, brown color and that’s so they can camouflage themselves in their environment. These lobsters really stood out. They’re bright orange,” said Kelly Martin, Vice President of Zoological Care at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
In July, Red Lobster announced its restaurant in Hollywood, Florida discovered a bright orange lobster. Ripley’s Aquarium of Myrtle Beach welcomed the lobster into its aquarium. In August, Red Lobster discovered another orange lobster at one of its restaurants in Meridian, Mississippi.
“Orange lobsters are uncommon but perhaps not as rare as we first thought,” said Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies Director of Husbandry, Jared Durrett, in a press release from Red Lobster. “Lobsters obtain their color through the pigments they ingest in their diet. If these orange lobsters are being harvested from the same region, perhaps their localized diet contains a pigment that, when paired with the lobster’s genetics, creates the orange coloration we are seeing.”
Nilon is excited to see the lobsters go to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium for guests to see.
“They’re going to outlive their life there. They’re not going to be eaten, not going to be steamed. They’re going to live their life there and I’m going to go visit them,” said Nilon.
Once the lobsters arrive at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, staff will quarantine the lobsters and monitor them. The lobsters will eventually be available for guests to see.
“We’ll be sure to let you know when you can get a nice, up-close visit of these animals,” said Martin.
