Rare ‘cotton candy’ lobster caught off New England coast

Video above: How to catch a Florida lobster

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – An extremely rare “cotton candy” lobster was recently caught off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine by the Atlantic Lobster Company.

The odds of catching a pink, purple, and blue shimmering lobster is 1 in 100 million, the Seacoast Science Center said.

Credit: Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire

While lobsters are commonly depicted as red, the science center said lobsters come in many different colors – including those that resemble the fluffy fair food.

“Lobsters come in a few color descriptions from orange, yellow, red, blues, and cotton candy, which is a mixture of pinks and purples on a blue backdrop resembling ‘cotton candy,’ so this is where the name comes from,” Aquarist II Sam Rutka said. “There are also split lobsters, for example, red on one side and black on the other; as well as calico, another rare coloration where the lobster has a distinctive black and orange mottled color pattern.”

Two cotton candy lobsters currently reside at the science center, as well as an orange and a few blue lobsters.