At its October meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved changes to recreational and commercial stone crab regulations for escape ring requirements. These regulation changes include: For the 2023-24 stone crab season, an unobstructed escape ring 2 3/16 inches in diameter for all recreational and commercial plastic or wood stone crab traps … Read more
Florida’s recreational and commercial stone crab season in state and federal waters will end on May 2, with the last day of harvest being May 1. Commercially harvested stone crab claws may be possessed and sold during the closed season but only if they have been placed in inventory prior to May 2 by a licensed … Read more
Look Out for Tagged Stone Crabs in the Keys FWRI crustacean biologists are investigating stone crab movement throughout the Florida Keys. Stone Crabs caught in our fisheries independent monitoring traps are being tagged and released into nearby waters. Look out for Tagged Stone Crabs. We hope to get enough tag reports from commercial and recreational … Read more
Commercially caught Stone Crab claws are cooked immediately after harvest and available fresh cooked or frozen. Fresh cooked claws should be eaten within three to four days if packed in ice or stored in the coldest part of a refrigerator. Be sure to only freeze Stone Crab claws that are completely intact and free from … Read more
The main Stone Crab harvest method used in both the commercial and recreational fisheries is a baited trap. Some recreational crab fishers collect crabs by hand (using scuba or snorkel gear). Most fishermen use traps. In the commercial stone crab fishery, traps are put out in long lines of up to 100 traps where each … Read more
Florida stone crab fishery provides 99% of all stone crab landings in the United States. As such, stone crabs are in the top five fisheries of Florida.
At its July meeting, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved changes to recreational and commercial stone crab regulations. Florida’s stone crab fishery has experienced a long-term decline in harvest and is likely undergoing overfishing. FWC staff worked with stakeholders on these changes that are intended to increase the stone crab population and … Read more
While the Florida Keys stone crab harvest runs from Oct. 15 to May 15, November’s annual Stone Crab Eating Contest is an undisputed highlight of the seven-month season. The much-anticipated munch-a-thon is to draw amateur eaters and their fans Saturday, Nov. 9. Staged at Keys Fisheries Market and Marina, located at 35th Street gulfside in Marathon, … Read more
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) needs your input on the recreational stone crab and blue crab fisheries. Share your feedback on potential regulation changes for this fishery. The FWC is hosting public workshops throughout the state in May to develop a better understanding of the public’s view on management of these fisheries. … Read more
The Florida Keys are well-known for many things such as Fishing, Diving, Beautiful Sunsets and of course Florida Keys foods. The varied recipes found in the local restaurants reflect a multitude of cultural influences from our Spanish, Bahamian, Caribbean neighbors as well as American cuisine. With Commercial fishing the 2nd largest industry in the Keys, just behind tourism, it … Read more
We are well into the Spiny Lobster and Stone Crab seasons. The prices should have stabilized after the high prices of the beginning of the seasons. The Chinese play a role in Spiny Lobster prices, but also they are learning how to play the [lobster] game. Last year Stock Island-based commercial lobster fisherman George Niles … Read more
Miami resident Juan Mallen took top honors at the annual Stone Crab Eating Contest Saturday in the Florida Keys. Mallen, a 49-year-old commercial appliance technician, cracked and ate 25 stone crab claws in 12 minutes and 54 seconds, besting the old record by more than two minutes. He has been trying to win the contest … Read more
Recreational and commercial Stone Crab season opens Oct. 15 in state and federal waters Only the claws may be harvested Although it is currently lawful to harvest both of a stone crab’s claws, this practice leaves the stone crab with few ways to defend itself from predators. FWC encourages people to only take a single claw. … Read more
Stone crab fishermen would welcome the same prices for more claws in the new season that opens with the first pull Thursday, October 15, 2015. “There’s enough demand to take care of the supply but we’re hoping for more supply,” said Gary Graves from Keys Fisheries in Marathon, a leading supplier of stone-crab claws. Last … Read more
As the 34-foot Lucky Lady rolled in 2- to 3-foot seas Thursday, trap after trap came up from the Gulf of Mexico crawling with stone crabs, many of them big males with jumbo claws. A good opening day of stone crab season, which runs through May 15: The Lucky Lady landed almost 200 pounds of claws in 400 traps, or … Read more
State fishery managers have removed a loophole that gave some unscrupulous commercial trap fishermen a leg up on fellow fishermen and had serious impact on the lucrative spiny lobster fishery, which is centered in the Florida Keys. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) amended its regulations for stone crab traps used in Collier, … Read more