Stone crab season is over.
Stone crabbers have picked up their traps and the crabs will be left to reproduce and repopulate until Oct. 15, when the season begins again.
The harvest of this popular Florida crab ended with a strong finish, with crabbers statewide pulling in nearly 3 million pounds of claw fish worth almost $30 million, according to Ryan Gandy, a research scientist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Since the 1980s, when the FWC began tracking population information, stone crab harvests have ranged from 2 million pounds to 3.5 million pounds, putting this year’s harvest at the upper end.
Karen Bell, who operates A.P. Bell Fish Co. at 4600 124th St. W., Cortez, and the Starfish Company Market & Restaurant next door, said the season went better than it in the recent past.
“It went better than three years ago. I think we had a pretty good year. Comparable to last year, production was better,” she said. “We’ll do it again in October.”
She said crabs sold at $20 per pound of jumbo size claws, and wholesale prices ranged $9-$20, depending on the quantity purchased.
Bell sources her stone crabs from 12 independent crabbers. She also runs a bait boat, a shrimp boat and 13 grouper boats from Cortez.
Each season, crabbers set out baited crab traps. After waiting a few days at a time, crabbers pull up the traps and harvest legal size claws before throwing the rest back in the water and re-setting the traps.
Only claws 2.7 inches or larger can be harvested. The claws are the only harvestable portion of the crab.
Bell said the Starfish restaurant continued selling stone crabs until May 15 and sold out of clam chowder May 16.
According to Adam Ellis, owner of the Blue Marlin Seafood Restaurant at 121 Bridge St., Bradenton Beach, his business wrapped up stone crab season in February.
“They were catching them good this year,” he said. The restaurant sold mixed sizes of stone crab legs at $20 a pound and prepared crabs at $25-$35 a pound.
Population recovery: Myths and Facts
According to the FWC, stone crab numbers have made a significant rebound since 2014, when only 1.9 million pounds of stone crabs were caught.
In 2015, the crabs appeared to make a decent recovery, with crabbers pulling in 2.2 million pounds worth $27.8 million. In 2016, 3.1 million pounds were caught, a $31.5 million value.
Stone crabs can regrow their claws.
But studies have shown that stone crabs with one claw removed have a 40 percent mortality rate and crabs with both claws removed have a 60 percent mortality rate once thrown back in the water. Without their claws, which they use as tools and weapons, stone crabs are more vulnerable to predation from other animals.
In addition, Gandy said, stone crabs rarely regrow claws large enough to reharvest.
Sustainability efforts should include population reproduction, not just claw regrowth, Gandy said.
The recovery period from May to October allows female crabs to lay millions of eggs in an effort to repopulate.