In recent months, we’ve seen some rare things occur: the transit of venus, an annular solar eclipse, and not one but two super-rare types of lobsters wash up in fishing nets. I’ll admit, the stuff happening in space is a bit more exciting, but for the fishing and seafood communities up north, the lobsters take the prize.
A Mansfield, Massachusetts seafood restaurant–Fresh Catch–recently had as many as five rare orange lobsters sent to them packed in crates. When the manager spied them among their less brightly-hued buddies, he knew he had something special on his hands.
Owner Bill Sarro says the lobsters have been a boon for big business, because after a call from the New England Aquarium, he put them on temporary display at the front of the restaurant rather than in the boiling pot. Because finding one is so rare–at least 1 in 10 million–people are coming from miles away to get a glimpse and a photo. Sarro says the aquarium is in the middle of arranging for the lobsters to be transported to a marine biologist for study, but for now they reside on display at five different restaurant locations in Massachusetts.
“They were filming a movie with Kate Winslet a mile away, but more people came here,” said Sarro. “It’s great for business.”