One-in-two-million blue lobster landed by Aberdeen fisherman

The blue lobster was caught off Aberdeen

A fisherman has told how he had to pinch himself after catching a rare blue lobster - the chances of which are said to be two-million-to-one.

Ricky Greenhowe, 47, has been fishing off Aberdeen since he was a teenager and it was his first such find.

He said he would offer the lobster to an aquarium or put it back in the sea.

Blue lobsters are so-coloured because of a genetic abnormality that causes them to produce more of a certain protein than others.

Mr Greenhowe found the striking-looking crustacean off Aberdeen on Thursday morning when creels were brought to the surface on his boat, Skua.

• How rare are bright blue lobsters?

"I spotted it straight away and put him in a box on his own", he told BBC Scotland.

"I have never seen one before, and I have been fishing since I was 14."

Mr Greenhowe said a normal lobster of that size - about 1.5kg (3.3lbs) - would be worth perhaps £25.

"It's not about the money - it should continue its life", he said.

"I will phone Macduff Aquarium to see if they want it, if not I will put him back.

"It's so rare, it would be a shame to put it in a pot."

Two fishermen in Dorset hit the ultimate lobster-probability jackpot in 2011 when they caught an albino, or "crystal", lobster - the odds of which are estimated to be one in 100 million.