Two rare blue lobsters caught off the coast of Nova Scotia

[File photo of a blue lobster caught in New Hampshire / AP, Foster’s Daily Democrat, Geoff Cunningham]

It was a once in a lifetime catch that somehow happened twice in a few short days after two Nova Scotian fishermen each hauled in an elusive blue-coloured lobster.

As CTV News reports, fisherman Blaine Marsh caught a blue lobster last Friday near the coast of Alder Point, near Cape Breton. The special catch was nicknamed “Blueberry” by Marsh’s granddaughter before eventually being released back into the ocean on Sunday.

Blue lobsters are a rare sight for even the most seasoned lobster fisherman, and the odds of actually catching one in is about one in two million.

They’re so rare that pulling in one of these odd-coloured crustaceans, an appearance caused by a genetic mutation, is said to be a sign of good luck for fisherman.

Well hopefully this year’s lobster season will be extra special after yet another blue lobster was caught, this time by fisherman Scott MacKinnon off the coast of Low Point, N.S., on Monday.

For any skeptics thinking it might be the same lobster, the second catch was not only 150 kilometres away from the first, but was also significantly larger than its fellow blue-coloured counterpart.

The second blue lobster, nicknamed ‘Opal’ will be staying at an aquarium in North Sydney, N.S., before eventually being released back into the wild at the end of lobster season.

“The old people say it’s good luck and prosperity for the boat,” Mackinnon said. “We’re going to send the good luck back to the ocean.”