Despite the discovery, which scientists say has a probability of about one in two million, a lifelong fisherman has dumped the extremely rare and completely blue crustacean into the ocean

A fisherman was stunned after pulling an extremely rare blue lobster out of the ocean.

Stuart Brown, 28, from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, said the catch was “a surprise to everyone”.

This remarkable creature was found near Blackhead Lighthouse after it was kept in a pot off the northern coast of the heathland.

However, the lobster was too small to hold, so he was forced to release it back into the water after he finished taking photos.

“It was still out there somewhere on the sand, swimming as happily as possible,” he said. Hopefully if someone else catches it, they will return it too.”

His boat was in deep water at the time of the catch – about 15-18 meters.

Describing the discovery, he said: “I pushed the pot down for the crew to lift it out and he commented: ‘It’s very green’.

“I looked at him and said: ‘Yeah, no problem.’ But then I looked at it again and said: ‘It’s so green.’”

A veteran fisherman who started his career at the age of 11, he added: “You’ll see lobsters out there that don’t look normal, they’re a little browner or a little redder, it’s just that something different about them, but nothing too drastic.

“I Googled it to see how rare it was and there was a 1/2 million chance of catching it.”

The County Down Seafood Wholesale shareholder says it is now a “weird and wonderful thing” found in the ocean that he can tick off his list.

Genetic differences can cause some lobsters to have a different color than the more commonly seen brown or red varieties.

The difference means that certain proteins are made at a different rate than others.

Scientists calculate that the chances of catching a blue lobster are about one in two million, meaning this really is Stuart’s lucky day.