Pearl lobsters cost more than 6 times as much as Maine lobsters. Here's why they're so expensive.

Tropical rock lobsters, or pearl lobsters, as they're better known, are one of the rarest and most expensive lobster varieties. The colorful crustaceans are so valuable that there have even been international smuggling attempts of its larvae. Commercially-bred pearl lobsters sell for about $50 per kilogram, while wild-caught pearl lobsters sell for $99 per kilogram. This makes pearl lobsters more than 6 times more expensive than Maine lobsters, which go for $15 a kilogram. So what makes pearl lobsters so special, and why are they so expensive?