Imagine hauling up your lobster trap and finding a creature that looks more like it belongs in a sweet shop than the sea. That’s exactly what happened off the coast of New Hampshire when a 25-year-old lobsterman pulled up a crustacean painted in swirls of pink, purple and blue. Scientists say the odds of finding such a “cotton candy lobster” are about one in 100 million. To put that in perspective, you have a better chance of winning the lottery than seeing one of these creatures in the flesh.
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Catch
Joseph Kramer had only recently begun running his own lobster boat. On a July afternoon, he went out with his father and girlfriend to check about 20 traps near New Castle. As he lifted the last one, he spotted a lobster that shimmered like a gemstone under the sun. At first, he thought he had caught a rare blue lobster, which appears once in about 2 million.
But when experts at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye examined it, they confirmed it was even more unusual. Kramer had caught a cotton candy lobster, an animal so rare that aquarists often spend decades in the field without ever seeing one.
The Science of Strange Colours
Most lobsters wear a coat of mottled brown, which helps them hide on the rocky ocean floor. Their shell colour comes from pigments in their food, particularly a red substance called astaxanthin. Inside the shell, this pigment bends and twists as it interacts with proteins, creating layers of red, blue and yellow that usually combine into a dull brown.
But sometimes, nature throws a curveball. A genetic mutation can disrupt this pigment process, creating lobsters in vibrant shades of orange, bright blue, or in the rarest of cases, the dazzling pink-purple hues of a cotton candy lobster. Scientists believe diet can intensify the effect. A lobster that eats more shrimp and crab, which are rich in astaxanthin, may show stronger colours than one fed mostly on bait fish.
Beautiful but Vulnerable
While striking to the human eye, the lobster’s bright colours make survival in the wild almost impossible. On the sea floor, standing out is dangerous. Predators easily spot a lobster that cannot blend in. That is one reason sightings are so rare. Many cotton candy lobsters never reach adulthood, let alone get pulled from the ocean by a fisherman.
This particular lobster, a healthy male estimated to be between 8 and 14 years old, now has a safe home at the Seacoast Science Center. Staff placed it in a special tank where it could adjust before going on display. It now joins other odd-coloured lobsters, including orange and blue specimens, that draw crowds of fascinated visitors.
A Lobster With a Future
For Kramer, the catch felt like a blessing. He had grown up watching other lobstermen and working on tugboats in New York City, but this was his first season fishing under his own commercial licence. He described the lobster as the most extraordinary thing he will probably ever pull from the sea. By donating it to the science centre, he hoped children on school trips would feel the same amazement he once did as a boy visiting the aquarium.
He also said he hopes the rare lobster marks the beginning of a prosperous season. Whether or not luck follows, his find has already secured a place in local lore. After all, catching one lobster out of 100 million is not a story many can tell.
Why It Matters
The cotton candy lobster is more than a curiosity. It reminds scientists and the public that even in the most studied environments, nature has the power to surprise. Each rare find expands understanding of how genetics and diet interact in animals. Just as flamingos turn pink from shrimp, lobsters reveal that food and DNA can create extraordinary living art.
For visitors to the science centre, it is a chance to stand face to face with a living creature that most will only ever see in photos. For Kramer, it was proof that sometimes the sea holds secrets waiting for the right person to lift them from the depths.
