Stone crab season in Florida is a highly anticipated time of year for seafood lovers. The sweet, hearty claws of stone crabs are a delicacy enjoyed by many across the state. But when exactly is Florida’s stone crab season? This guide will overview everything you need to know about stone crab harvesting seasons in Florida.
Overview of Stone Crab Seasons
The stone crab season in Florida runs from October 15th to May 1st annually. This spans both fall and winter months when stone crab meat is at its peak.
The season is broken into two distinct segments:
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October 15th to December 7th – During this early segment only claws can be harvested from legally-sized stone crabs The crab bodies must be returned to the water unharmed.
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December 7th to May 1st – After December 7th both claws can be harvested as long as the remaining claw meets the minimum legal size. The bodies can then be harvested as well.
Stone crab season closes completely on May 2nd to allow populations to regenerate claws during summer breeding months.
Why Are There Two Distinct Harvesting Phases?
The two phases of Florida’s stone crab season aim to balance commercial fishing needs with long-term sustainability.
The no-body-harvest period in the early season reduces reproductive impact on stone crab populations during peak spawning months. Allowing both claws and bodies to be kept later in the season provides higher economic value for the fishery.
Splitting the season this way accommodates commercial fishing interests while maintaining healthy stone crab numbers.
What Are the Legal Harvesting Requirements?
Commercial and recreational stone crab fishing in Florida must follow these rules:
- Minimum size – 2 7/8 inch claw
- Daily bag limit – 1 gallon of claws per person or 2 gallons per vessel, whichever is less
- Gear allowed – up to 5 stone crab traps per person, dip and landing nets
- Illegal gear – spears, hooks, grabs that can damage bodies
- Closed season – No harvest allowed from May 2nd through October 14th
Only the claws, not whole crabs, can be kept during the early phase before December 7th. Egg-bearing female crabs must be released unharmed year-round.
Checking for Legal Size
Measuring for the 2 7/8 inch minimum claw size is critical. The acceptable method is:
- Place the base of the immovable claw next to the base of the movable claw
- Pinch the point of the immovable claw to close against the movable claw
- Measure at the longest length when fully closed
Any claw not meeting the minimum must be returned to the water attached to the crab’s body.
Why Return Undersized and Egg-Bearing Crabs?
Releasing stone crabs under the legal limit and fertile females allows the populations to replenish for future seasons.
Stone crabs can regenerate harvested claws through molting. A 2 7/8 inch minimum size gives them adequate opportunity to regrow claws before being legally re-harvested.
Returning egg-bearing females enables reproduction and future generations. Taking these precautions helps ensure stone crab season can occur year after year.
Checking for Eggs Under the Abdomen
Before keeping a female crab’s body, be sure to check for eggs. Turn the crab upside down to look under the abdomen. If bright orange eggs are present, she must be released.
Check thoroughly as eggs can be tricky to see. Use proper lighting and look from multiple angles. When in doubt, assume eggs are present and release the crab.
Why is Stone Crab Season in the Fall and Winter?
Timing Florida stone crab season between October and May takes advantage of the crabs’ natural seasonal cycle.
Stone crabs become most active and enter peak feeding in the fall through winter. This fattens their claws with hearty meat and makes the best eating.
In spring and summer, warmer temperatures cue them to mate, spawn, and molt. Claw meat declines in quality and is watery during these months.
Closing the fishery in early May allows uninterrupted spawning and claw regrowth. Populations regenerate over summer and resume normal activity come October.
How Does Water Temperature Affect the Season?
Because stone crabs are colder water creatures, water temperature plays a key role in their seasonal cycle.
As coastal waters cool down in October, crabs become more lively and start bulking up fat reserves in their claws through heavy feeding. This makes the meat sweeter and richer.
In spring, warming waters near the 68-70°F range trigger the start of mating behavior, egg production, and molting instincts.
This corresponds with the May closure of season – allowing summer breeding without disruption from harvesting pressures.
Why are Stone Crab Regulations Essential?
Careful management of stone crab season and regulations keeps Florida’s iconic fishery sustainable.
Stone crabs are slow-growing creatures and take time to reach reproductive maturity. Minimum size limits protect immature populations.
The winter-centered season targets peak meat quality. Offsetting claw vs. whole crab harvest balances economic needs.
Without these science-based regulations, the fishery could easily become depleted beyond recovery.
Proper adherence to the rules by both commercial and recreational harvesters ensures stone crab season can persist as a treasured Florida tradition. With informed conservation efforts, future generations can continue to enjoy these delicious seasonal delicacies.
Requirements for Recreational Traps
People 16 and older who fish for fun must fill out a free online recreational stone and/or blue crab trap registration form before they can use stone or blue crab traps. This includes people who don’t normally need a license.
To register, visit GoOutdoorsFlorida.com and add the Recreational Stone Crab Trap Registration or the Recreational Blue Crab Trap Registration to your fishing license account.
When the job is done, each person will be given a unique trap registration number that must be written on each trap along with the full name and address of the owner. For stone crab traps, the registration number starts with the letter “S.” For blue crab traps, it starts with the letter “B.” ” This information must be legible and must be permanently attached to each trap.
With this free registration, FWC can get important data about these recreational fisheries that will be used for future stock assessments and management decisions.
Harvesters younger than 16 don’t have to sign up, but they do have to put their name and address on their traps.
Minimum Size Limit: 2 7/8 inches; only claws may be harvested.
Daily Bag Limit: 1 gallon of claws per person or 2 gallons per vessel, whichever is less.
Harvest from egg-bearing crabs prohibited.
State Waters Harvest Seasons: Open Oct. 15 – May 1 (closed on May 2)
There are 10 days before the season starts that you can put traps in the water, but you can’t touch them until the season starts. That’s when you can start harvesting.
Gear Requirements:
- Legal Gear: stone crab trap (max. 5 per person), dip or landing net.
- Gear that is against the law includes anything that can pierce, crush, or hurt the crab body, like spears, grains, grabs, hooks, or other similar tools.
- The largest trap that can be used is 24 inches by 24 inches by 24 inches, which is 8 cubic feet.
- Traps can be made from either wood, wire or plastic
- The opening or throat has to be 5 ½ inches by 3 ½ inches.
- In Collier, Monroe, and Miami-Dade counties, the throat can’t be more than 5 1/2 inches by 3 1/8 inches.
- If the entrance or throat is round, it can’t be bigger than 5 inches across.
- Round throats prohibited in Collier, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties
- The trap must have a 7-inch-by-3-inch panel made of cypress or untreated pine slats that can break down. The panel can’t be thicker than ¾ of an inch.
- On a vertical side of the trap, wire traps must have at least three clear escape rings that are 2 3/8 inches in diameter.
- NEW: All recreational and commercial plastic or wood stone crab traps must have an unobstructed escape ring 2 3/16 inches in diameter for the 2023–24 stone crab season. There are no location requirements. For the 2024–25 stone crab season and beyond, all recreational and commercial plastic or wood stone crab traps must have an unobstructed escape ring 2 3/16 inches in diameter inside a vertical exterior trap wall.
- Each recreational trap must have the harvester’s name, address, and a unique registration number permanently attached and easy to read.
- The buoy can’t be less than 6 inches across and must have a 2 inch-tall “R” on it that can be read.
- If you fish from a dock, you don’t need buoys.
- Traps must be pulled manually (not by a trap-puller). If your boat has a trap-puller on it, it will be considered a commercial boat, and you will need the right licensed.
- Traps must be pulled only during daylight hours.
- There are certain areas where traps are not allowed. These areas include the Intracoastal Waterways and areas that are maintained and marked by any county, municipal, state, or federal government agency.
Special regulations apply for traps and this species when in Biscayne National Park.
Everything to know about stone crab season in Florida
What are the requirements for fishing during the stone crab season in Florida?
Anyone over the age of 16 must have a saltwater fishing license to collect stone crabs. This is available as an add-on feature to a traditional fishing license. Registration numbers must be on the traps. In addition to these regulations, harvesters must watch the claw size of the stone crabs they collect.
What is the stone crab season in Florida?
Stone crab season is from mid-October to mid-May when the Naples weather is a bit cooler. The season is also when part-time restaurant workers flock back to the area from up North in preparation for the winter season. Stone crab season in Florida is the livelihood for many Floridians.
What is the best time to eat stone crabs?
If you have a seafood or fishery village themed restaurant we can supply your Florida Stone Crab requirements from Mid October to Mid May. Just book in advance because we expect an influx of orders.
How long does stone crab season last?
The recreational and commercial stone crab harvest seasons start Oct. 15 and remain open through May 1, closing May 2, 2022. The minimum claw size limit is 2 7 / 8 inches. As a reminder, all plastic and wood stone crab traps will need to be outfitted with a 2 3 / 16 -inch escape ring before the 2023/2024 season.