At the Cortez Fishing Village, fishermen like Capt. Wade Campbell are getting their crews, boats and crab traps ready to go as stone crab season nears.
The opening of stone crab season is Thursday. The fresh claws that are plucked from stone crabs and make their way to dinner plates are quite profitable for commercial crabbers.
Last year, more than 3 million pounds of stone crab claws collected statewide racked up an estimated value of $18.8 million for commercial stone crab fisherman, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Commercial fisherman got an average of $6.15 a pound for stone crab claws in 2008, according to the commission.
In Manatee County last year, 59,577 pounds of stone crab claws were collected, and 46,178 pounds were collected in Sarasota County.
— Herald Staff report
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