No blushes as red lobster is spared the pot

HIS flushed colour might suggest he made a daring escape from a boiling pot in a seafood restaurant but that half-baked idea is way off the boil.

However, there was nothing quite so dramatic about the discovery of a rare red lobster plucked from the sea yesterday by an alert fisherman whose prized catch has been causing quite a stir.

Local pot-fisherman Pa Keane was the centre of attention when he landed the blush-toned crustacean off Kerry Head, west of Ballyheigue beach in Co Kerry.

And marine experts insist the chances of landing a red lobster in these shores are more than one in 10 million.

“Lobsters are usually blue until they are boiled and then they turn red so this red lobster found at sea is quite significant,” said marine expert Kevin Flannery. He collected Pa’s prized catch in Ballyheigue to transport it safely to the Oceanworld aquarium in Dingle.

“A similar red lobster was found off the coast in Clogherhead, Co Louth, some months ago and to find two in one year is just totally unheard of,” said Mr Flannery.

He is at a loss to explain why the lobster is such a different shade to the regular variety, but laughed off any suggestion that it was something those with a taste for lobster should fret about.

“There is no way it has anything to do with climate change.

“It is probably caused by a colour morph after it didn’t throw off its shell in the normal manner and it is something that can happen — though it is very rare.”

The foot-long celebrity catch will now go on display at Dingle Oceanworld with the other red-blooded male caught this year.

Mr Flannery stated: “We were hoping this one would be a female so that it could breed with the male already in Dingle, but this one is male also.”

But he quipped: “That said, we’re living in a modern society now so we’ll put them in the same tank and see what happens.”

The price of lobster has been falling alarmingly and there has been a big fall-off in demand for the delicacy during the recession.

“Fishermen are lucky now if they can get €10 a kilo which is nothing really compared to what it used to be,” said Mr Flannery.

Major conservation is continuing to protect the species, with all pregnant females v-notched and released.