NOME, Alaska (AP) — A rare blue-colored red king crab was part of a fisherman’s July 4 catch off Nome, Alaska.
Frank McFarland found the blue crab in his pot; it is being kept alive at the Norton Sound Seafood Center until he can have it mounted.
The rare crab has become a rock star of sorts, with people showing up at the center to have their photos taken with it.
Scott Kent of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Nome says he has no idea why the red king crab is blue, but suspects it’s just a mutation.
Kent says a blue crab “turns up once in a blue moon.”
