Blue king crab caught in Alaska, becomes local star
A blue king crab was caught off the coast of Nome, Alaska earlier this month. Local officials say they don't know why the rare blue king crab has its unique hue.
Crab fisherman Frank McFarland, left, holds up a rare blue-colored red king crab he caught in his commercial crabbing pots as Frank Kavairlook Jr., right, looks on in Nome, Alaska. The rare blue-colored crab has become a rock star of sorts, with people showing up at the center to have their photos taken with it.
Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game/AP/File
NOME, Alaska
A rare聽blue-colored聽red king聽crab聽was part of a fisherman's catch earlier this month in Nome, Alaska.
Frank McFarland found the blue king crab聽in his pot when fishing on July Fourth off Nome. The blue king crab聽is being kept alive at the Norton Sound Seafood Center until McFarland can have it mounted.
The rare blue king crab聽has become a rock star of sorts, with people showing up at the center to have their photos taken with it.
Scott Kent, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Nome, says he has no idea why the red king聽crab聽is blue, but suspects it's just a mutation.
Kent says a blue聽crab聽"turns up once in a blue moon."
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