Little lobsters land on beaches

-- June Casagrande

Several Newport Beach residents reported seeing small red shellfish

washed up on city beaches on Friday and Saturday.

A Newport Beach Fire and Marine Department spokesman said the

creatures, some of which were seen on the peninsula between the piers on

Friday and others on Corona del Mar beaches on Saturday, looked like tiny

lobsters.

But they were unable to confirm whether the creatures were the same as

the crayfish that have appeared in huge numbers on the shore in

neighboring Huntington Beach.

“It’s our understanding that this is nothing compared with what

they’ve gotten in Huntington Beach,” department spokesman Lt. John Blauer

said.

The animals reported in Newport Beach were bigger than shrimp but were

red and had pincher claws, making them look like small lobsters.