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Orange lobster is one in 10 million

Orange lobsterBarratlantic

At a glance

  • A one in 10 million orange lobster has been caught off the Western Isles

  • It was handed into a fish processing firm on Barra

  • Lobsters are usually a dark blue/black colour

  • Cornwall-based National Lobster Hatchery said a lack of a certain protein could be behind the unusual colour

A rare orange lobster has been caught off the Western Isles.

It was handed in by a fisherman to Barra-based fish processing firm Barratlantic, which has placed it in a tank with other live lobsters.

The chances of a European lobster being orange is one in 10 million, according to Cornwall-based conservation charity the National Lobster Hatchery.

Lobsters are usually a dark blue/black colour.

The National Lobster Hatchery said there were different theories to why some lobsters were different colours such as genetic, diet or adaptation to their habitat.

It added that a lack of a certain protein could be behind the orange colour.

Last year, a one in two million blue lobster was landed by a fisherman off Aberdeen.

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