The Florida Stone Crab
This is a crab known for its claws and a season we look forward to each year. Meet the Florida Stone Crab. These crabs are harvested from the waters of Southern Florida – one claw at a time.
A renewable resource from the water itself, Florida Stone Crabs are harvested exclusively for their claws, which they’re able to regenerate when removed. The Florida Stone Crab season runs from mid-October through mid-March.
ABOUT THE FLORIDA STONE CRAB
The Florida Stone Crab (Menippe mercenaria) is a type of mud crab that burrows into muddy and sandy bottoms near river mouths, estuaries and mangrove forests around the coasts of Southern Florida. The latter provides the perfect space for these crabs, which are secretive in nature and like to hide under docks, mangrove roots or in small holes away from their natural predators like sea turtles, octopuses and grouper.
These crabs typically range in sizes from 5 to 6 ½ inches across their carapace, but it’s their black-tipped claws that really make this crab stand out. It’s the biggest crab you’re likely to find on a Florida beach, with 10 pairs of legs: eight for swimming and two for powerful pinching.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE CLAWS
Primarily feeding on clams, oysters, snails and other mollusks, Florida Stone Crabs have powerful claws. Since its primary source of food is locked behind hard shells, these crabs have developed claws that can generate 19,000 pounds per square inch of force when closing.
Unlike other crabs, Florida Stone Crabs are only harvested for their claws which can regenerate, or regrow, if it’s been removed. This means the claw can be harvested and the crabs can be released back into their natural habitats while it grows back, a process that typically takes a year.
HARVESTING THE CLAWS
Florida Stone Crab Season is open yearly from October 15 to March 15. For a claw to be harvested, it now needs to be at least 2 ⅞ inches in length from the bottom section of the claw to the elbow, or first knuckle. Claws are available in a range of sizes from medium (7 to 8 claws per pound) to colossal (1 to 2 claws per pound).
To avoid the meat sticking to the inside of the claws, Florida Stone Crab claws are always cooked right after being harvested and either immediately sold or frozen to be sold later.
While it is legal to harvest both claws from the crab if they meet the size requirements, it’s frowned upon due to the crab’s chance for survival dropping significantly without both. Claws of an egg-bearing female cannot be harvested, and they must be returned to the water immediately.
It’s possible to distinguish between claws that are original and ones that have been regenerated. Here’s how: look on the inner facing side of the claw (propodus). If it’s the original claw, you’ll see a little print with continuous lines that look like a fingerprint. If the lines are broken or dotted, it is a regenerated claw.
Over 98% of the Stone Crab catch in the United States comes from Florida which is overseen by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. As the leader in the fishery management, the FFWCC places limits on trap sizes, as well as number of traps and permits issued. Over 75% of the catch comes from Collier, Dade and Monroe Counties.
FLORIDA STONE CRAB AT WATER GRILL
These delectable claws are sweet and rich in flavor with a firm, dense texture. At Water Grill, we serve Wild Florida Stone Crab Claws chilled in two sizes - Large (3 to 5 claws per order) or Jumbo (1 to 2 claws per order). A mustard dipping sauce accompanies each order. This is a Southern Florida seasonal specialty and a must-try for any crab or seafood lover when available. Check out menus and seasonal availability here.
.png)
Softshell Crab Season Has Arrived!
The season's first catch of Wild Maryland Softshell Crab has arrived! They're making their West Coast debut at Water Grill.
THE START OF THE SEASON
The end of spring is a wonderful time. For starters, we get more daylight (and eventually recoup the hour of sleep lost at the start of Daylight Savings Time). That means little to Mother Nature though: the world continues to turn, and tilt on its axis, bringing warmer weather to the Northern Hemisphere. It’s here, in the Mid-Atlantic, where we begin to reap those rewards. Watermen take to their boats on the Chesapeake Bay and prepare their traps for the blue crab harvest.
As water temperatures rise, these blue crabs are harvested in anticipation of them molting and shedding their shells.
Learn more about their journey – from blue crab to softshell, and from the country’s largest estuary to one of our favorite seasonal offerings – here.
ABOUT BLUE CRABS
Who says Latin is dead? The language tells us a lot. Exhibit A: the scientific name for blue crab is Callinectes sapidus, meaning beautiful savory swimmer.
These crabs propel themselves through the water using their back fins, or swimmerets. You’ll find this species all along the Atlantic Coast, down through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, and even to some northern parts of South America. But all roads lead to Crisfield, Maryland – the softshell crab capital of the world.
You could say this crab is the Chesapeake’s answer to the jewel of the Nile. It’s the most valuable fishery in the bay.
HARVESTING
Blue Crabs live anywhere from three to four years and reach maturity around one year to 18 months. Growth is very dependent on temperature. Mating occurs from fall through the spring and, interestingly, females can only mate once during their life but can spawn multiple times.
Females, especially those carrying eggs, prefer higher salinity areas and often migrate towards the mouth of the Chesapeake to spawn. Males prefer lower salinity waters and can often be found closer to river mouths and estuaries.
Harvesting generally begins in late Spring as water temperatures warm and crabs prepare for their summer growth. This is often marked by the first full moon in May.
A COMING OF AGE
Softshell crabs are blue crabs. They’re harvested throughout the Chesapeake Bay by commercial crabbers when the hardshell blue crabs are deemed to be peelers, or crabs that are ready to molt.
Watermen will look for signs, such as white, pink and red colors on the shells, to tell which crabs will molt, and when. In fact, a red outline, called a “red sign”, on the swimming fin indicates that a crab will molt in less than two days.
These crabs are then transferred to shedding tanks where they are monitored until they molt. The tanks are shallow, and the water temperature is carefully regulated to emulate the crab’s natural molting habitat.
Once a crab molts, it is removed from the shedding tank as soon as possible before the shell begins to harden (which can take as little as a few hours). It’s at this moment when a blue crab becomes a softshell crab. They’re then carefully packed and arrive to us daily – directly from the Chesapeake to our restaurants.
FLAVOR
Iconic, sweet and earthy, softshell crab is a crunchy treat with olive-like notes imparted from the shell.
At Water Grill, our Wild Maryland Softshell Crab is prepared with a watermelon and cucumber salad and a brown butter soy ginger sauce.
