In late July, a young fisherman named Joseph Kramer was pulling lobster traps off the coast of New Hampshire when he saw a crustacean that was too beautiful to eat. The lobster shell was a swirling mass of blue, purple, and pink pigment that, when wet, resembled glazed iridescent pottery.

Kramer had previously caught a bright blue lobster, but he had never seen one this colorful. The lucky lobster escaped his dinner plate and was taken straight to the Seacoast Science Center, where it is now on display. Aquarium expert Sam Rutka confirmed it was a “cotton candy” lobster, a genetic rarity that affects only one in 100 million people.

Cotton candy lobsters are more likely to be eaten by predators because they aren’t as well camouflaged as their brown-shelled friends, making it even more exceptional for humans to fish them out. In 2018, cotton candy lobsters with much lighter, pastel-hued flecks were caught off the coast of Canada.

A typical lobster shell may appear brown on the surface, but it is actually composed of red, yellow, and blue pigments. Genetic mutations can sometimes cause one pigment to overpower the rest.

Red lobsters are the most common colour variation, occurring in 1 in every 10 million people, while orange, yellow and multi-coloured lobsters can range from 1 in 30 million to 1 in 50 million.

Cotton candy lobsters and albino lobsters are the rarest species, occurring at a rate of 1 in every 100 million. This year was the first time Kramer used his own lobster tackle. He told Ian Lenahan of the Portsmouth Herald that he hoped his luck would continue.