Upcoming stone crab season could get off to slow start

Floridians know that the coming of fall and the beginning of stone crab season go hand in hand, but recent storms could lead to a slow start this year.

Crabbers are allowed to begin placing their traps 10 days before the season’s Oct. 15 start date, but Karen Bell, owner of A.P. Bell and Star Fish Co., said that many put off setting traps early due to inclement weather.

“Many of the crabbers waited for the storms to move through and only just began placing them last weekend,” Bell said.

Even with the delay, Bell estimates that 4,000 to 5,000 traps have been placed. As more crabbers begin laying traps, she expects that number to grow as high as 10,000.

Bell said it typically takes two weeks for the traps to bait in a decent amount of stone crabs, so the influx of crabs should hit its stride about a week after the season starts.

But those who can’t wait to get their hands on a plate of stone crab claws might have to this year.

According to Bell, it’s impossible to tell how recent weather has affected the migration pattern of stone crabs. She said the storms could have prompted crabs to move further out from shore, but that only time will tell as crabbers begin checking and adjusting the locations of their traps.

Even though the season begins Sunday and runs until May 15, Bell said not to expect restaurants to have stone crab on their menus right away and suggested calling ahead to check.

The collection of stone crab claws is heavily regulated by the Florida Fish and Conservation Wildlife Commission. Each trap must be marked with a colored bobber and a tag with numbers specific to each crabber to prevent poaching.

Crabbers may only take the claws that are at least 2 3/4 inches long. While it’s legal to harvest both arms of a stone crab, the FWC urges crabbers to only take one – pulling both leaves it virtually defenseless against predators.

The FWC notes that crabs and other crustaceans have the ability to grow back their claws, but this requires a large amount of energy in the form of food. Without any claws to collect it, stone crabs take longer to regenerate limbs for the next harvest.

This story was originally published October 10, 2017 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Upcoming stone crab season could get off to slow start."