Two veteran Maine lobstermen on separate excursions this week each made an extraordinary discovery after catching a split-colored lobster.
These catches were made days apart, and are remarkable since split-colored lobsters are estimated to occur in only one out of every 50 million lobsters. The unusual coloration is believed to result from a genetic anomaly, though according to the fisherman, researchers still don’t fully understand why it occurs.
Captain Justin Dunphey, of Damariscotta, caught his split-colored lobster on June 30 while fishing aboard the Carol Coles on Georges Bank, about 175 miles southeast of Pemaquid Point.
Dunphey said he plans to donate the lobster to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, N.H.
“It’s an anomaly,” Dunphey said. “One in 50 million is the odds.”
While lobsters can occasionally be found with rare blue, yellow, calico, or albino coloring, Dunphey said the split-colored pattern remains one of the rarest discoveries a fisherman can make.
“I don’t think anyone really knows why,” he said. “I don’t even know if the science is there.”
For Clinton Collamore, of Waldoboro, the discovery was equally surprising even though he has spent more than five decades on the water. Collamore, who began fishing with his father and grandfather around 1969, said he had previously caught blue and white lobsters but had never before caught a split-colored one.
“What makes this even more rare? It’s a female,” Collamore said, noting that another fisherman he spoke with had caught a male split lobster several years ago.
Collamore contacted organizations that might be interested in caring for the lobster. If no home is found, he plans to return it to the ocean.
“We’ve always called it ‘God’s Country,’” Collamore said of the Bremen waters where his family has fished for generations. “It’s kind of interesting; I caught this rare lobster right in God’s Country.”
Even after 30 years on the water, Dunphey said lobsters continue to surprise him.
“Every time you think you’ve figured it out, they will surprise you,” he said. “I guess there’s nothing bigger of a surprise than getting one that’s split down the middle in color.”
