This Is Guernsey

By Aimee Le Cocq

The ‘Albino’ Lobster turns out to be a lobster. Although he’s a bit more blue than normal and has a white (ish) underbelly.

A RARE blue lobster has been found off the coast of Alderney.

The as yet unnamed crustacean was transported by Aurigny to the Aquarium, where it is being housed alongside a similar creature also found recently.

‘It’s a vibrant-coloured blue with a white underside and white nodules at the back,’ said Aquarium owner Dave Miller.

‘The fishermen who found him rang me up and I said I would be pleased to see it.

‘We have a similar one here but this one is by far the biggest.’

The public are being invited to name the lobster which is on display at the Aquarium from 10-6 Monday to Saturday and 10-5.30 on Sunday.

Around one in two million lobsters is blue rather than black. Research conducted by Professor Ronald Christensen, at the University of Connecticut, discovered a genetic defect causes a blue lobster to produce an excessive amount of protein. The protein and a red caratenoid molecule, combine to form crustacyanin, giving the lobster its blue colour.