Pepsi lobster: claw ‘tattooed’ with drinks label goes viral
‘Branded’ claw offers a stark warning about prevalence of litter in oceans

A lobster with a Pepsi logo “tattoo” on its claw has been found by a Canadian fishing crew.
The logo was spotted by Karissa Lindstrand, who has been working on a lobster boat off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada, for four years.
Lindstrand - who told CBC she drinks around a dozen cans of Pepsi a day - was banding lobster claws with her crew earlier this month when she spotted a familiar logo amid her catch.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Upon closer inspection, part of a Pepsi logged was embedded in the crustacean's claw. It “looked like it was tattooed on”, she said.
“I took a picture of it with my phone and stuck it on my Facebook page to show my friends and it kind of went viral.”
Many theories have since emerged to explain the phenomenon, including that the “lobster somehow grew around a Pepsi can strewn on the ocean floor, or that part of a discarded soda can box had become indelibly affixed to its claw,” says Time.
For Lindstrand, there is one concrete conclusion to be drawn from the incident. “This tells me there is a lot of garbage in the ocean, if that's what's happening to the lobsters we get out from the water.”
Between five million and 13 million tonnes of plastic waste are dumped in the world’s oceans every year, The Guardian reports. Marine creatures can become entangled in loose plastic or choke on rubbish that they mistake for food.
Matthew Abbott, marine programme co-ordinator at the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, told CTV that the strange case was a sobering example of the prevalence of man-made debris in the ocean.
“The lobster not necessarily has been hurt by it, but it shows that even in the relatively deep waters off Grand Manan there's garbage down there,” he told CTV.
As for “Pepsi lobster”, for all its unusual decoration, the claw met with the same destiny as the rest of the catch. “It is probably in Boston," said Lindstrand. "It probably already crossed the border.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 educational cartoons about the Harvard pushback
Cartoons Artists take on academic freedom, institutional resistance, and more
By The Week US
-
One-pan black chickpeas with baharat and orange recipe
The Week Recommends This one-pan dish offers bold flavours, low effort and minimum clean up
By The Week UK
-
Merz's coalition deal: a 'betrayal' of Germany?
Talking Point With liberalism, freedom and democracy under threat globally, it's a time for 'giants' – but this is a 'coalition of the timid'
By The Week UK
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across Syria
THE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK