Canadian fisherman catches 1 in 100 million albino lobster
A Nova Scotia fisherman made a one in a million catch
As a reporter living near the ocean in Nova Scotia, I get to see some incredible marine life as when people make discoveries along the coastline. I've seen my share of whales, came within an arm's length of a great white shark, but never had I seen an albino lobster.
Until now.
Lobster fisherman AJ Francis tells me "It was the last trap on the trawl and I saw something white," from aboard his boat docked at the Pictou Landing wharf.
The start of lobster season had to be delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions, but for Francis, it certainly started out with a bang.
Albino lobsters are considered to be 1 in 100 million, the rarest of the rare.
Rare albino lobster caught off Big Island. Courtesy of The Weather Network/AJ Francis
The albino is currently on display in the lobster tank at the Aberdeen Sobeys in New Glasgow. Francis donated it to the Northumberland Fisheries Museum but it'll be in the tanks at the grocery store until they take possession of it.
Albino lobsters have no pigment in their shells due to a genetic condition called leucism. It's the only lobster that won't turn red if it's boiled because it doesn't contain any pigments at all.
"Oh it was so surprising I've seen many yellow lobsters, many blue lobsters and I'll probably never see a white lobster again," says Francis.
You can see for yourself in the video above.
RELATED VIDEO: Last year, I'd driven up to the Northumberland Fisheries Museum to take photos of a rare split lobster who's odds are 1 in 50 million. You can check that out, below.
