An ultra-rare lobster was discovered in a delivery to a Red Lobster franchise in Manassas, Virginia according to the company’s Facebook page.
An employee happened to recognize and identify the lobster as a calico lobster. Calicos are 1 in 30 million for their species. He came in as part of a normal, everyday delivery via Maine. Once the crustacean was confirmed as a true, incredibly rare calico, the Virginia restaurant was put in contact with the Virginia Living Museum’s aquarium.
The spotty fellow is now “Freckles” thanks to the Manassas Red Lobster staff.
Calico lobsters, very rarely survive in the wild. Their spotty, brightly-colored shells make them easy for predators to see. As a result, they typically get picked off long before they reach maturity.
After a veterinary evaluation and quarantining for 30 days to make sure he is still healthy, Freckles will soon join the museum’s public exhibit in the Chesapeake Bay Gallery.
Red Lobster is partnered with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program for this exact type of circumstance. The program is committed to the sustainability of seafood and healthier oceans.
“We see [Freckles’ move] as an opportunity to share nature’s anomaly with guests,” the Virginia Living Museum’s Senior Director of Animal Welfare and Conservation Chris Crippen said in a statement, “as well as continue important education about sustainable seafood practices and significant conservation efforts of the American lobster fishery.”
Meet “Freckles” in the video below!