Listuguj fishers catch lucky blue lobster

Feeling blue?

Not the crew of Desert Storm 1. The lobster fishers from Listuguj, in the Gaspésie region of Quebec, found a rare blue lobster in their traps in the Chaleur Bay Thursday morning.

"It's something you don't see every day," said Marcus Wysote, captain of the boat.

"It was very cool to see."

The lobsters get the blue colour from a genetic mutation that causes the excess production of a specific protein. The chances of catching one are about one in two million, and they are considered by fishers to be a sign of good luck.

Wysote has been a lobster fisher since he was a kid, and this is only the second time he has come across the striking-looking crustaceans.

"I caught one about 10 years ago but it wasn't as blue as this one, it was more of a darker blue," said Wysote.

It was a first for the rest of his crew, which consists of community members Perley Caplin, Ryan Wysote and Nick James Wysote.

The crew began its season last month, and will be out on the water every day until July 14. It's a part of a longstanding tradition in the Mi'kmaw community. 

For Wysote, the trade was passed on from his uncles, and for the last six years he's been the captain of his own boat and crew.

"I grew into it and it became something I enjoyed, and I'm still doing it to this day," said Wysote.

"It's definitely our tradition. Our ancestors were doing it before us, and it's something we should carry on."

As for the blue lobster? It was returned to the water after a few photos were taken in admiration.