Rare orange lobster finds new digs at marine education center
Simon, a rare orange lobster rescued by a Mastic Seafood market, now lives at the Sport Fishing Education Center in Babylon. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Simon could well have become someone's Friday night dinner, but the lobster's bright orange hue turned out to be its saving grace.
As Anthony Locascio unpacked a 100-pound crate of live lobsters from Nova Scotia at his family’s Mastic Seafood market Tuesday morning, a pop of color caught his eye. Nestled among the usual speckled brown crustaceans was an orange lobster. Lobsters don't usually appear vibrant orange until they are cooked.
“It was sticking out like a sore thumb,” Locascio, 24, said Thursday.
The lobster, approximately 7 years old and weighing in at a pound and a quarter — and named Simon by market staff — has found new digs at the Sport Fishing Education Center in Babylon, where children learn about marine mammals and conservation.
Locascio said the seafood market has seen orange lobsters before, though it’s a rare occurrence. “We see one a year maybe. Sometimes you go years without seeing any,” he said.
Tracy Marcus, a marine educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, said there’s about a 1 in 30 million chance of spotting an orange lobster, and the coloring is caused by a genetic mutation.
“The regular lobsters have all these colors in them already. It’s kind of like an albino human,” Marcus said. “Only that one color gets expressed.”
Mutations can also cause lobsters to appear blue, white, or have patterns like cotton candy or calico, she said.
Locascio donated the lobster to Cornell Cooperative Extension, which runs the education center from Cedar Beach Marina.
Simon is living in a separate cold-water tank among an exhibit of more than 40 local species of fish, reptiles and a touch tank where kids study shellfish and snails.
“It creates a bond. Kids want to protect what they’ve learned about,” Marcus, the director of the Sea Explorers Marine Camp at the facility, said.
And while 1 in 30 million may sound lucky, it’s nothing Long Island fishers haven’t seen before.
John German, of Brookhaven, president of the Long Island Sound Lobstermen's Association, has caught orange and blue lobsters during his 59-year career. “We’d throw them in a crate with the rest of them and get paid the same,” German, 78, said, adding they still turn red when cooked. “They all taste the same.”
In 2022, there were 119 million pounds of American lobster harvested, valued at $515 million, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries bureau.
“It’s nothing to go through 30 million lobsters. There’s enough people fishing for lobster that they show up, and when they do, they get sent to an aquarium or zoo,” said Chris Paparo, who manages Stony Brook University’s marine science center in Southampton.
Paparo, who worked at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead for 17 years, said orange lobsters in the display sometimes stumped people.
“To the average person, it’s a cooked lobster,” he said.
Locascio said he was happy to part with Simon.
“He’s introducing young kids to sea life that may want to become lobstermen or protect the bays and fisheries,” he said.
“It could all start with Simon.”
Simon could well have become someone's Friday night dinner, but the lobster's bright orange hue turned out to be its saving grace.
As Anthony Locascio unpacked a 100-pound crate of live lobsters from Nova Scotia at his family’s Mastic Seafood market Tuesday morning, a pop of color caught his eye. Nestled among the usual speckled brown crustaceans was an orange lobster. Lobsters don't usually appear vibrant orange until they are cooked.
“It was sticking out like a sore thumb,” Locascio, 24, said Thursday.
The lobster, approximately 7 years old and weighing in at a pound and a quarter — and named Simon by market staff — has found new digs at the Sport Fishing Education Center in Babylon, where children learn about marine mammals and conservation.
Anthony Locascio donated the rare orange lobster, named Simon, to the Sport Fishing Education Center in Babylon. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost
Locascio said the seafood market has seen orange lobsters before, though it’s a rare occurrence. “We see one a year maybe. Sometimes you go years without seeing any,” he said.
Tracy Marcus, a marine educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, said there’s about a 1 in 30 million chance of spotting an orange lobster, and the coloring is caused by a genetic mutation.
“The regular lobsters have all these colors in them already. It’s kind of like an albino human,” Marcus said. “Only that one color gets expressed.”
Mutations can also cause lobsters to appear blue, white, or have patterns like cotton candy or calico, she said.
Locascio donated the lobster to Cornell Cooperative Extension, which runs the education center from Cedar Beach Marina.
Simon is living in a separate cold-water tank among an exhibit of more than 40 local species of fish, reptiles and a touch tank where kids study shellfish and snails.
“It creates a bond. Kids want to protect what they’ve learned about,” Marcus, the director of the Sea Explorers Marine Camp at the facility, said.
And while 1 in 30 million may sound lucky, it’s nothing Long Island fishers haven’t seen before.
John German, of Brookhaven, president of the Long Island Sound Lobstermen's Association, has caught orange and blue lobsters during his 59-year career. “We’d throw them in a crate with the rest of them and get paid the same,” German, 78, said, adding they still turn red when cooked. “They all taste the same.”
In 2022, there were 119 million pounds of American lobster harvested, valued at $515 million, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries bureau.
“It’s nothing to go through 30 million lobsters. There’s enough people fishing for lobster that they show up, and when they do, they get sent to an aquarium or zoo,” said Chris Paparo, who manages Stony Brook University’s marine science center in Southampton.
Paparo, who worked at the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead for 17 years, said orange lobsters in the display sometimes stumped people.
“To the average person, it’s a cooked lobster,” he said.
Locascio said he was happy to part with Simon.
“He’s introducing young kids to sea life that may want to become lobstermen or protect the bays and fisheries,” he said.
“It could all start with Simon.”
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Newsday Live Music Series: Long Island Idols Newsday Live presents a special evening of music and conversation with local singers who grabbed the national spotlight on shows like "The Voice," "America's Got Talent,""The X-Factor" and "American Idol." Newsday Senior Lifestyle Host Elisa DiStefano leads a discussion and audience Q&A as the singers discuss their TV experiences, careers and perform original songs.