By Dominik Lobkowicz
Kendall Delano, of Delano Seafood Market in Waldoboro, said he keeps interesting lobsters like this speckled lobster and half-orange lobster on hand so customers can see them. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
Having fresh seafood during a visit to Maine can be a rare treat for those from away, but visitors and locals alike can get a glimpse at some hard-to-find bugs at Delano Seafood Market in Waldoboro.
Kendall Delano Sr., of Friendship, has co-owned the market on Route 1 in Waldoboro with his wife Roberta and son Kendall Jr. for the last eight years.
During that time, Delano has come across some really rare lobsters, include two blues and a yellow, as well as the two he still has on hand: a calico or speckled lobster, and a half-brown, half-orange.
All the rare lobsters Delano has had in the market have come out of Friendship boats, he said.
Delano keeps the lobsters on hand, feeding them with broken clams or bits of fish, so customers can take a peek at something rare – as rare as one in 50 million for the half-and-half, according to the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute.
The blue lobsters are relatively common when compared to their other counterparts – one in 2 million. Both yellow and calico lobsters are estimated at one in 30 million by the Lobster Institute, and the rarest variety – albino, like two recently caught in Knox County – are estimated at one in 100 million.
The calico or speckled lobster at Delano’s has been there over two years, and Delano’s son bought the half-and-half off of a lobsterman this past February.
“I just keep them on display so when people come in they can see them,” Kendall Delano said.
