How to Measure Stone Crab Claws for Legal Size

Stone Crab claws must measure at least 2-3/4" in length measured by a straight line from the elbow to the tip of the lower immovable finger. The forearm (propodus) shall be deemed to be the largest section of the claw assembly that has both a moveable and immovable finger and is located farthest from the body of the crab.

Recreational Stone Crabbing Information from www.myfwc.com

Stone Crab Claw Limits No Female Stone Crabs with Eggs may be harvested. 2-3/4" Claw Size (see measurement details above). Open Season for Stone Crab Claws is October 15 until May 15. Bag Limit is 1 Gallon of Stone Crab Claws per Person or 2 Gallons per Vessel, whichever is Less. Stone Crab Claw Harvesting Gear It is unlawful to use any device on the taking of stone crabs that can puncture, crush, or injure the crab body, such as spears, grains, grabs, hooks, or similar devices. Maximum of five (5) stone crab traps per person as described in the summary of stone crab trapping rules below. Stone Crab Trapping Rules Five Stone Crab traps maximum per person. Buoy must have a legible "R" at least two inches high, permanently affixed to it. Buoys are not required if trap is fished from a dock. Trap shall have harvesters name and address permanently affixed to it in legible letters. 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. 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. A Florida recreational fishing license is required to harvest stone crabs under the recreational fishing regulations. Stone crab trap specifications are the same for recreational and commercial harvesters. Trap specifications may be found in Rule 68B-13.008, Florida Administrative Code . Can both stone crab claws be harvested? Both claws of a stone crab may be harvested lawfully if they are of legal size. Although it is currently lawful to harvest both of a stone crab's claws this practice leaves the stone crab with few alternatives to defend itself from predators. Although the stone crab can still obtain minimal amounts of food with no claws, having one claw (if the other one is harvested) will enable the crab to obtain greater amounts of food in a shorter amount of time. Stone crabs (like other crustaceans) have the ability to grow back their claws, but this process requires a large amount of energy in the form of food. The quicker the crab can obtain the energy required to molt and grow its lost claw, the sooner this renewable delicacy will have another claw to replace the missing claw. ____________________________   Buy Your Stone Crab Claws HERE! ____________________________   The following infromation also comes from www.myfwc.com, but from a different page as specified below:   http://research.myfwc.com/support/view_faqs.asp?id=20   Stone Crab Claws   Can both of a Stone Crab's Claws be harvested? Both claws of a stone crab may be harvested lawfully if they are of legal size. Although it is currently lawful to harvest both of a stone crab's claws this practice leaves the stone crab with few alternatives to defend itself from predators. Although the crab can still obtain minimal amounts of food with no claws, having one claw (if the other one is harvested) will enable the crab to obtain greater amounts of food in a shorter amount of time.  Stone crabs (like other crustaceans) have the ability to grow back their claws, but this process requires a large amount of energy in the form of food. The quicker the crab can obtain the energy required to molt and grow its lost claw, the sooner this renewable delicacy will have another claw to replace the missing claw.   Can I take Claws from female Stone Crabs? Yes, the legal-sized claws of female stone crabs can be harvested unless the female crabs are carrying eggs. It's against the law to take even one claw from an "ovigerous" (egg-bearing) female. The eggs are carried on the underside of the female and are held by a wide "apron" (actually the abdomen). The eggs are usually orange but occasionally red, red-brown, or brown-gray.   Can Stone Crabs survive after their Claws are removed? If the claws are removed correctly, a thin membrane forms over the wound and prevents bleeding. If a crab is de-clawed incorrectly (i.e., if part of the body is taken with the claw), the crab may bleed excessively or be unable to regenerate a new claw, and the likelihood that the crab will die significantly increases.   How long does it take a stone crab to regenerate a claw? That depends on a lot of things. If the crab has been declawed some months before it molts, it will produce a new claw that's about 2/3 of the size of the original claw. Usually, adult male crabs molt in the summer, and adult female crabs molt in the fall. If the crab lost its claw just before molting, its claw will be smaller—sometimes substantially smaller. Then, each time the crab molts, the size of the regenerated claw will be closer to the size of the original claw. A legal-sized crab can regenerate a claw that is legal-sized (harvestable) in about three molts (i.e., three years). A very large crab that lost its claw can regenerate a legal-sized claw in one molt.