The odds of catching an orange lobster are about one in 30 million, according to marine experts – but that hasn’t stopped two Maine lobstermen from landing four of the rare crustaceans in just over two weeks.
This rare orange lobster caught by Capt. Peter Pray out of Portland, according to Harbor Fish Market, is one of four recently hauled from the Gulf of Maine. Courtesy of Harbor Fish Market
Capt. Peter Pray, who fishes out of Portland, caught two male orange lobsters on June 9, then caught a third, a female, on June 15. All three of Pray’s lobsters were caught in the same trap, according to a Facebook post from Harbor Fish Market, which is located at 9 Custom House Wharf.
Pray brought the lobsters to Harbor Fish, where he typically sells his catch. But in the case of the three orange lobsters, they will not be sold to consumers.
“Yesterday (June 15), one of our lobster suppliers, Capt. Peter Pray, pulled up to our back door to unload yet another rare orange lobster. This is the third for him in a week of fishing, and caught using the same trap as the last two! Honestly, these are very rare lobsters … What’s up Casco Bay? What kind of lobster magic is happening in your waters,” Harbor Fish Market wrote on Facebook.
Pray’s unusual haul came just days after Capt. Gregg Turner of Scarborough caught a rare orange, one-clawed lobster in Casco Bay while fishing on the boat Deborah and Megan with his crew, Sage Blake and Mandy Cyr.
The lobster with one claw was donated by Turner to the University of New England’s Arthur P. Girard Marine Science Center in Biddeford. UNE said in a statement that the orange lobster was a one-in-30-million catch.
In a statement issued by Harbor Fish, Pray said he would like to send his orange lobsters to a lab for testing – with the condition that all three remain together and be returned to him. The orange lobsters have been stored temporarily at Luke’s Lobster on the Portland Pier. His goal is to return all three to the ocean.
“He is still in the process of reaching out and finding the right fit, but he says if he can’t find anyone soon he’ll release them,” Harbor Fish said.
Pray would like to “notch” the female, a method Maine lobsterman use to protect female lobster breeders from being landed and sold. Lobstermen notch a small V in the tail using a special tool.
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