Florida Stone Crab Season Opens – Recreational and Commercial Season opens Oct. 15, 2018

Stone Crab Season opens October 15th, 2018

Stone Crab season is one of my favorite seasons … sweetest, freshest crabs you’ll ever taste come from Florida..

I usually drive out to Everglades City and pick them up fresh from the boat ( Grimm’s Stone Crab is my spot )

….. I’ll pack a cooler with ice and come home with about 10 pounds of fresh, NEVER frozen crabs!

Press the link above to get more information, but below are some basic rules for Stone Crab Season:

Only the claws may be harvested
Claws must be 2 ¾ inches to be harvested
Recreational limit: 1 gallon of claws per person, 2 gallons per vessel, whichever is less
Harvest of claws from females with eggs is prohibited
Do not use any device that can puncture, crush or injure the crab’s body
May 16: Season closes
Recreational harvesters may use up to 5 stone crab traps per person
Recently adopted rule requiring recreational harvester to register their stone crab traps does not apply this season and will take effect prior to the Oct. 2019 season
The trap throat (entrance) must be no larger than 5 ½” x 3 1/8” in Collier, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties. In all other counties, entrances can be no larger than 5 ½” x 3 ½”. Round entrances are not allowed in Collier, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties and can be no more than 5 inches in diameter elsewhere in the state.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/FLFFWCC/bulletins/2106a04