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Tag: stone crab season

Stone crab harvesting begins this week

Stone crab harvesting begins this week

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Fishing, Outdoors, Stone Crabs.

CORTEZ – The stone crab harvest begins on Oct. 15, when traps can legally be pulled from the water.

Commercial crabbers handle the bulk of the annual harvest, but for those recreational fishers who like to try their hand at catching the local delicacy, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conser­vation Commission (FWC) has posted the following regulations on its website:

Recreational fishers ages 16 or older must complete a free online stone and/or blue crab trap registration before using the traps. Registration can be done at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com. Upon completion, each person will receive unique trap registration numbers that must be included on each trap along with the owner’s full name and address. This no-cost registration will allow FWC to collect important information about these recreational fisheries needed for future stock assessments and management decisions. Harvesters under 16 are not required to register but still must mark their traps with their name and address.

Stone crab harvesting begins this week
A boat in Cortez carries stone crab traps at the beginning of harvesting season. – Leslie Lake | Sun

 Size, catch limits

  • Only claws may be harvested at a minimum size limit of 2 7/8 inches;
  • The daily bag limit is 1 gallon of claws per person or 2 gallons per vessel, whichever is less. Harvest from egg-bearing crabs is prohibited;
  • Traps may be placed in the water 10 days prior to the opening of the season, but may not be tended to until the start of the season when harvesting can begin; and
  • Legal gear is a stone crab trap (maximum five per person), dip or landing net. Any device that can puncture or injure the crab body is prohibited.

Both claws of a stone crab may be harvested lawfully if they are of legal size, but this leaves the stone crab with a weakened defense against predators, so it is suggested that just one claw be harvested. Stone crabs grow back their claws.

Recreational trapping regulations

  • Traps must be pulled manually (not by a trap-puller). Any vessel that is rigged with a trap-puller will be considered a commercial vessel and the appropriate licenses will be required;
  • Traps must be pulled only during daylight hours; and
  • Traps must not be placed in navigational channels of the Intracoastal Waterways, or in navigational channels maintained and marked by any county, municipal, state or federal governmental agency.

Trap specifications

  • Maximum trap size is 24 inches by 24 inches by 24 inches or a volume of 8 cubic feet;
  • Traps can be made from either wood, wire or plastic;
  • The throat or entrance must be 5½ inches by 3½ inches;
  • If the throat or entrance is round, it cannot exceed 5 inches in diameter;
  • The trap must have a degradable panel that is 5½ inches by 3½ inches and is made of cypress or untreated pine slat no thicker than ¾ of an inch;
  • Wire traps must have at least three unobstructed escape rings (2 3/8 inches in diameter) located on a vertical side of the trap; and
  • An unobstructed escape ring 2 3/16 inches in diameter to be located within a vertical exterior trap wall for all recreational and commercial plastic or wood stone crab traps is required.
    Stone crab harvesting begins this week

Stone crab harvesting season runs through May 1, 2026.

 

Cortez moves forward with stone crab harvest

Cortez moves forward with stone crab harvest

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Community News, Cortez, Featured.

CORTEZ – In a display of resilience following recent back-to-back hurricanes, both Cortez fish houses are moving forward with the seasonal stone crab harvest.

Stone crab harvesting season runs from Oct. 15 through May 1.

“One boat went out today,” Karen Bell, owner of A.P. Bell Fish Co., responded by text on Oct. 15 to a question by The Sun about the viability of this year’s season. “There definitely will be a season.”

Stone crabs are harvested for their claws and then returned to the water where the claws will regenerate. The claws are a delicacy in seafood shops and restaurants.

The season will also continue this year at John Banyas’ Cortez Bait and Seafood, Inc., according to Swordfish Grill General Manager Adam Sears.

He responded to The Sun by text, saying, “We have gear in the water.”

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regulations for commercial harvesting of stone crabs: “Traps may be placed in the water and baited 10 days prior to the opening of the stone crab season. Please be aware that once placed, you may not tend to the traps until the start of the season, at which time you may begin harvesting.”

A Manatee County Historical Society plaque in front of Star Fish Company references a long history of determination in Cortez and reads in part: “Records show that by 1897 Cortez was a thriving fishing community with stores, a school and other refinements. The fish houses and other shoreline structures were virtually destroyed by the high waters and winds of the 1921 hurricane, but the determined residents rebuilt.”

In order to allow residents time to recover and rebuild from the two recent hurricanes, the 12th annual Cortez Stone Crab & Music Festival was canceled this year.

“We look forward to bringing back the festival better and stronger next year,” according to organizers.

Stone crab season closes

Stone crab season closes

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Fishing, Outdoors.

Fresh stone crabs will be available just a little while longer as the harvesting season is about to end.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), stone crab season closes on May 2 with the last day of harvest being May 1 for the state’s recreational and commercial stone crab seasons in state and federal waters.

The annual season closure is intended to increase the stone crab population and build resiliency in the fishery, according to the FWC.

The only part of the crab that is harvested is the claw.

“Stone crabs are known for their powerful claws, which account for more than half of the crab’s total weight. These crabs use their two claws – a crushing claw and a tearing claw – to eat and defend themselves,” according to the University of Florida IFAS Extension Service. “Unlike other fisheries, the claws are also the only parts of the crab harvested – live stone crabs must be returned to the water where they can regenerate new claws.”

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 wholesale or retail dealer.

Stone crab traps must be removed from the water within five days after the close of the stone crab season. Stone crab claws may not be harvested from traps pulled after the season closes.

The harvesting season will begin again on Oct. 15.

For more information on harvesting stone crab traps for recreation, commercial stone crab regulations, trap specifications and licensing information, go online to MYFWC.com/Marine.