Published: July 26, 2007 10:53 pm         

Albino, three-clawed lobsters surface

GLOUCESTER, Mass. — Thousands of lobsters go in and out of Captain Joe & Sons in Gloucester, Mass., on a weekly basis.

In the last week, two unusual crustaceans surfaced amongst the catch at the wholesale lobster company off East Main Street.

An albino lobster, which co-owner Frank Ciaramitaro calls a “ghost lobster,” and a three-clawed lobster caught the attention of employees and owners alike.

“We’ve seen all kind of lobsters,” Ciaramitaro said. “We see different kinds about 10 times a summer. I don’t know what it is that makes them like that, but they all taste just as good.”

The three-clawed lobster came in off a boat last Friday; four days later, on Tuesday, the albino lobster was discovered.

“It was just totally coincidental that it was within a week, because that usually doesn’t happen,” said Joe Ciaramitaro, a co-owner.

Neither lobsters was sold, because both of the lobstermen who caught them wanted to keep them.

Before a lobster is boiled, the pigment of the exoskeleton is usually black. The Ciaramitaro cousins — Frank and Joe — have seen all sorts of different colored lobsters over the years: blue, purple, speckled, orange, albino and those split down the middle — half red and half black.

The Ciaramitaro cousins said they see blue lobsters around once a year, but three-clawed lobsters are not as common.

“We see one of those once every couple of years,” Joe Ciaramitaro said.

The three-clawed lobster’s extra claw extended out the side of one of his claws.

About five years ago, a perfectly edible lobster with a claw deformity came in, but no snapshot was taken due to the lack of a digital camera.

“It was wild,” Joe Ciaramitaro said of the lobster. “A completely independent claw coming out of another claw.”

Every day, Joe Ciaramitaro posts pictures of things he finds interesting on his blog. Customers who see the pictures of the exotic lobsters online often come down to Captain Joe’s and ask about them, but the lobsters are gone.

“We don’t hold on to them,” he said. “Everything comes in and goes out.”





Nate Rice writes for the Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times.