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Rare one-in-a-100-million ‘cotton candy’ lobster is caught off New Hampshire coast

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Rare one-in-a-100-million ‘cotton candy’ lobster is caught off New Hampshire coast


A rare one-in-a-million lobster was caught off the coast of New Hampshire, leaving the fisherman who pulled it out of the water in shock.

Joseph Kramer, 25, was working in New Castle when he pulled in a stunning ‘cotton candy lobster’ with a unique blue, pink and purple outer shell.

The crustacean’s iridescent coloring was either caused by a genetic mutation or its diet, but the different shades also make it a target for predators. 

Rather than risk the lobster turning into someone’s dinner or being killed by releasing it back into the sea, Kramer handed it over to the non-profit organization Seacoast Science Center where the crustacean could live out its life. 

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A 25-year-old owner of a lobster company caught a cotton candy lobster off the coast of New Hampshire on Sunday

A lobster's diet can influence its coloring, resulting in a rare and unique blue, pink and purple genetic mutation that makes it a target for other predators because it can't blend into its surroundings

A lobster’s diet can influence its coloring, resulting in a rare and unique blue, pink and purple genetic mutation that makes it a target for other predators because it can’t blend into its surroundings

Kramer, the owner of the Atlantic Lobster Company, called it a ‘once-in-a-lifetime feeling’ after he found the cotton candy lobster in the last of his 20 traps while on his boat with his father and girlfriend on Sunday. 

He initially thought it was a one-in-two-million blue crab, but he was later told by the Seacoast Science Center that it was a rare cotton candy lobster.

‘This one has a really beautiful kind of a lavender, purple, pink-ish hue to it that puts it right in the cotton candy category,’ Sam Rutka, an Aquarist II at Seacoast Science Center told Seacoastonline.

Lobsters have layers of red, yellow and blue carotenoid pigments that are produced by plants and algae that give the crustacean its hue, making them look brown to the human eye.

However, when these pigments over or under-develop they can result in several types of brightly colored lobsters like the one-in-10 red lobster, one-in-50-million two-toned and the one-in-100-million albino.

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The crustaceans get these pigments from an antioxidant called astaxanthin – a type of red coloring – that when mixed with the carotenoids, gives off the typical brown hue.

Their coloring turns to red when the lobster is cooked because the heat releases the antioxidant compounds.

The drastic change in the cotton candy lobster's coloration may come from it having unusually low astaxanthin levels from feeding on a different diet of bait fish, rather than the typical diet of crab and shrimp which are rich in the compound

The drastic change in the cotton candy lobster’s coloration may come from it having unusually low astaxanthin levels from feeding on a different diet of bait fish, rather than the typical diet of crab and shrimp which are rich in the compound

The Seacoast Science Center reported that it hopes to display the cotton candy lobster at its facility in Rye, New Hampshire within the next two to three weeks

The Seacoast Science Center reported that it hopes to display the cotton candy lobster at its facility in Rye, New Hampshire within the next two to three weeks

But the drastic change in the cotton candy lobster’s coloration may come from it having unusually low astaxanthin levels from feeding on a different diet of bait fish, rather than the typical diet of crab and shrimp which are rich in the compound.

‘Genetic mutations are a normal part of nature,’ Rutka told Seacoastonline.

‘These animals, because of mutation, are expressing different color genes in their shells, so that actually makes them more able to be predated upon.

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‘It’s also rare because it’s more easily spotted by predators, so that increases the rarity of finding one because it means no one else has found it yet to eat it.’

The Seacoast Science Center reported that it hopes to display the cotton candy lobster at its facility in Rye, New Hampshire within the next two to three weeks.

In the meantime, the facility has placed the crustacean in a quarantine tank to allow it to acclimate to its new environment after its capture.

‘I think it is definitely the only one I will ever catch, maybe even the only one I will ever see again in my lifetime,’ Kramer told Seacoastonline.

‘I’m over the moon about catching it, and letting it be seen by everyone at the Science Center makes it even better.

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‘Knowing that it will spend its time in safety I think is the best place for it to be kept and preserved.’



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New Hampshire

Woman dies in Wilton, NH house fire – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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Woman dies in Wilton, NH house fire – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


WILTON, N.H. (WHDH) – A woman died in a Wilton, New Hampshire, house fire Wednesday morning, according to the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office.

At 9:08 a.m., Wilton firefighters responded to Burns Hill Road after a caller said their home was filling up with smoke. When they arrived, a single-family home was on fire and they found out two people were still inside on the second floor.

A man and a woman were both taken out of the house by firefighters and taken to Elliott Hospital. The woman was pronounced dead and the man is in serious condition.

Officials have not released the name of the victim at this time.

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At this time, investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and are trying to determine if a power outage in the area played a factor. The fire is not currently considered suspicious.

(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black

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N.H. woman accused of civil rights violation after allegedly shooting at lost man because he was Black


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Diane Durgin, 67, is accused of shooting at a Black man who inadvertently drove to her property after a prearranged truck part sale, prosecutors said.

A New Hampshire woman is accused of violating the state’s Civil Rights Act four times after she allegedly shot at a man because he was Black, prosecutors said.

Diane Durgin, 67, of Weare, N.H. could face up to a $5,000 fine for each violation she is found to have committed, the office of New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a press release Tuesday.

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Durgin is also charged with criminal threatening against a person with a deadly weapon and attempted first degree assault with a deadly weapon, Michael Garrity, a media representative for the New Hampshire Attorney General, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Durgin had a final pre-trial conference last week, Garrity said.

In a civil complaint filed Tuesday, Durgin is accused of threatening physical force against the victim, the AG said. Prosecutors asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction barring Durgin from repeating her alleged behavior and from contacting the victim and his family.

During the morning hours of Oct. 20, 2024, the victim claims, he “mistakenly” drove to Durgin’s home after a prearranged purchase of a truck part with a seller online, prosecutors wrote as part of their request for an injunction.

When the man — whom prosecutors identified in court documents as X.G. — arrived, Durgin allegedly stepped out of her home and approached his car with a gun “holstered by her waist,” prosecutors wrote. 

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Upon noticing that X.G. was Black, Durgin allegedly “removed her gun and pointed it at X.G.,” prosecutors said in the injunction request.

While X.G. explained that he was lost, Durgin called the victim a “Black mother[expletive],” and threatened to “kill him,” prosecutors allege.

As the victim attempted to drive away, Durgin allegedly took her gun and fired two shots at the fleeing man’s car, missing both times, the AG’s office said.

While on the phone with a dispatcher, Durgin allegedly said she shot the man’s car because the victim is Black, the AG said.

“The guy is Black. And he, he…he says he’s meeting someone here and I think he’s coming here to steal,” Durgin allegedly said.

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Police located X.G. and brought him to the Weare Police Department, stopping along the way at the correct seller’s home to complete the truck part purchase, prosecutors wrote in court documents.

To prove a violation of the New Hampshire Civil Rights Act, the AG must show that Durgin “interfered or attempted to interfere with the rights of the victim to engage in lawful activities by threatening to engage in or actually engage in physical force or violence, when such actual or threatening conduct was motivated by race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability,” prosecutors said.

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Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast

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Up to 4 inches of snow expected in NH tonight. See latest forecast


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It may be March, but winter in New Hampshire is far from over. Just one week after a blizzard tore through the state with heavy snow and high winds, the state is getting another round of snowfall.

The state will get three to five inches during the evening and night of Tuesday, March 3, says the National Weather Service (NWS) of Gray, Maine. While the accumulation will not be significant, the snowfall may cause dangerous road conditions and a layer of ice on the ground in certain parts of the state.

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Here’s what to know before tonight’s snow in New Hampshire, including snow totals and timing.

When will it snow in NH tonight?

According to the NWS, it will start snowing in New Hampshire during mid-afternoon or early evening and continue through the night. Specifically, snow will arrive to the southern part of the state around 2-3 p.m., spreading northwards through the rest of New Hampshire by 5 p.m.

Rain or freezing rain will mix in later this evening across southern New Hampshire, creating a wintry mix. All precipitation should move out of the state by midnight.

Due to the timing of today’s snowfall, the Tuesday evening commute will be affected, with the NWS warning to slow down and exercise caution while driving.

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How much snow will NH get tonight?

New Hampshire will get one to four inches of snow tonight, with one to two inches in northern New Hampshire, two to three inches in southern New Hampshire and three to four inches in the center of the state, with the possibility for five inches in localized areas.

In the Seacoast specifically, Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and York are expected to get between two to three inches of snow, while Dover, Exeter and Rochester may get up to four.

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The wintry mix may also cause a light glaze of ice across southern New Hampshire.

NH weather watches and warnings

The NWS has issued a winter weather advisory for the state of New Hampshire, in effect from 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3 through 4 a.m. on Wednesday, March 4.

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