The last haul is done and the catch is in the coolers.
Florida stone crabbers hauled in their traps by May 1, leaving crabs to reproduce and repopulate until Oct. 15, when the season begins anew.
Stone crab is one of Florida’s most sought-after delicacies, with crabbers statewide pulling in nearly 2.5 million to 3 million pounds of claws, according to stats from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Karen Bell, who operates A.P. Bell Fish Co., 4600 124th St. W., Cortez, and the Starfish Co. Market & Restaurant next door, said the season went well for her crabbers.
“It was a good production year. It was definitely better than last year, probably about a third more production than last year,” she said.
Bell sources her crabs from 20 independent crabbers in the area.
Each season, crabbers set out baited crab traps. Then, after waiting a few days at a time, crabbers pull the traps and harvest claws of legal size before throwing the crab back to 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 and the crabs regrow the harvested claws.
Bell said the Starfish restaurant would continue selling stone crabs until May 15.
“They’ll sell them until they are maybe three to four days out of the trap, maybe five. They have a pretty good shelf life because they are cooked,” Bell said. “So, we’ll sell them until they are gone.”
Did you know?
Stone crabs can regrow their claws but studies have shown that stone crabs with one claw removed have a 40% mortality rate and crabs with both claws removed have a 60% mortality rate once thrown back in the water.
Without their claws, which they use as tools to collect food and weapons against predators, stone crabs are more vulnerable to predation.
The recovery period from May to October allows female crabs to lay millions of eggs in an effort to repopulate.