Crustacyanin, a protein that binds with astaxanthin to produce a blue hue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nIn most lobsters, this combination results in a dark, muddy blue-green shell that helps them blend into the seabed.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/f31b5b70-947b-11f0-ad7d-63b0f51784c5.jpg.webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
A blue lobster on the left compared with its more common relative on the right<\/p>\n
When the balance shifts, either due to genetics or environmental factors, the colour can become dramatically more vibrant.<\/p>\n
“When we talk about blue lobsters, we’re often seeing extra blue lobsters,” Prof Stevens said.<\/p>\n
“These are lobsters with a genetic mutation that causes an overproduction of crustacyanin, giving them a vivid, electric blue appearance.”<\/p>\n
What role does environment play?<\/p>\n
Chris Weston, senior hatchery technician at the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, Cornwall, has observed colour changes in lobsters raised in captivity.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had several lobsters hatch here and grow up with that electric blue look,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Interestingly, when we deploy them into containers in the sea, they often shift to a darker, more natural blue. But when they return to the hatchery, they become lighter again.”<\/p>\n
Mr Weston believes this may be due to environmental factors such as light exposure, as hatcheries may be brighter than the seabed, influencing pigmentation.<\/p>\n
![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0fb6d020-947c-11f0-ad7d-63b0f51784c5.jpg.webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n
Light exposure at hatcheries may affect pigmentation, says Chris Weston at the National Lobster Hatchery<\/p>\n
He said it could also be down to dietary variation, as lobsters in captivity may have less access to astaxanthin-rich food, allowing the blue crustacyanin to dominate.<\/p>\n
Similar environmental changes could be happening in the wild, potentially contributing to the rise in sightings of blue lobsters, he added.<\/p>\n
Are blue lobsters still rare?<\/p>\n
Prof Stevens said reports of blue lobsters were increasing.<\/p>\n
“There’s been an uptick in sightings,” he said.<\/p>\n
“We haven’t seen a huge rise in our own samples, but fishermen are reporting more of them.”<\/p>\n
One possible explanation is the mutation is being passed on more successfully. <\/p>\n
“If these lobsters are surviving and reproducing, they’re passing on that trait,” he said.<\/p>\n
Ben Marshall, head of production at the hatchery, said: “It seems they may not be as rare as we thought. <\/p>\n
“It was thought that the blue lobsters are as rare as one in two million, but with the average catch in Cornwall of roughly half a million individual lobsters landed each year, we should only see one blue lobster every two years.”<\/p>\n
![\"PA](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/3f6cdd00-947c-11f0-9775-fd0580a4f1ac.png.webp.webp\")
PA Media<\/p>\n
Experts are urging more research into blue lobsters<\/p>\n
Historically, brightly coloured lobsters were thought to be more vulnerable to predators, especially when young or moulting. Their vivid shells made them easy targets.<\/p>\n
Prof Stevens said: “If they’re increasing, something in their environment may have changed, perhaps fewer predators, or better camouflage in new habitats.”<\/p>\n
He added he did not believe there was a link to climate change.<\/p>\n
“The crustacyanin, the blue colour, is under the control of two genes and we don’t see any relationship with those genes and anything that might constitute a trend towards changes in climate,” he said.<\/p>\n
What is next for research?<\/p>\n
Prof Stevens and Mr Weston agree more research is needed on whether numbers are rising. <\/p>\n
Genetic studies, environmental monitoring, and collaboration with fishermen could help scientists understand whether blue lobsters are truly becoming more common, and why.<\/p>\n
Beshlie Pool of the South Devon and Channel Shellfishermen, said it would be “really useful to have a recording scheme”, the last known catch of a blue lobster in the south Devon water was 12 months ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jonathan MorrisSouth West and George ThorpeSouth West BBC Blue lobsters have a genetic mutation which produces the vivid…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":240844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[815,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-240843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-genetics","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115235299761556548","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"BBC](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/84e75740-947a-11f0-ad7d-63b0f51784c5.jpg.webp.webp\")
BBC<\/p>\n