All About Florida Keys Fishing & Key West Fishing
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Florida stone crab, Menippe mercenaria, and gulf stone crab, M. adina

Stone crabs are found from North Carolina south around peninsular Florida to the Yucatan
Peninsula and Belize and throughout the Bahamas and Greater Antilles. Adults are benthic and
live in burrows that can be found from the shoreline out to depths of 200'. In the northern and
western Gulf of Mexico (northwest Florida to Tamaulipas, Mexico), gulf stone crabs replace Florida
stone crabs. In addition, there are zones of secondary contact and hybridization between species
in the gulf between Cedar Key and Cape San Blas and in the Atlantic between Cape Canaveral
and Charleston, South Carolina (Bert and Harrison 1988). Differences in the ecology and life
history among hybrids, gulf stone crabs, and Florida stone crabs suggest the need for different
management regimes for each fishery (Bert 1992). Florida stone crab growth is highly variable but
growth to 0.4” carapace width can occur in as little as 6 months to as long as one year (Tweedale
et al. 1993). Most female Florida stone crabs spawn when they reach 2.25"–2.75" carapace width
or approximately age 2. Although some spawning occurs all year, Florida stone crabs spawn
principally from April through September. The stone crab fishery is unusual in that only the claws
are harvested; the crab is returned to the water alive, ostensibly to generate new claws.
Approximately 20% of the claws measured in fish houses were regenerated, providing evidence
that crabs survive the de-clawing process. The operating season of the stone crab fishery is from
October 15 through May 15. Since the operating season spans two calendar years, stone crab
landings are reported by the calendar year in which the season begins. In calendar year 2006,
commercial stone crab landings were 2,418,951 million pounds of claws. There are no estimates
for the size of the recreational fishery. Landings were taken almost exclusively (99% by weight) in
gulf coast counties. The highest landings were reported in Monroe, Collier, Lee, Manatee, Pinellas,
Hernando, Citrus, Dixie, and Wakulla Counties on the gulf coast and in Miami-Dade County on the
Atlantic coast of Florida in 2006 (Fig. 1). Overall, landings of stone crab increased between 1986
and 1992 stabilized at about 2.6–3.5 million pounds each year through 2004, and declined to
about 2.3 million pounds in 2005 and 2006 (Fig. 2). The 2006 total landings of stone crab were
17% lower than the average landings in the previous five years (2001-2005) and were 15% lower
than the 1982-2006 historical average landings.

The stone crab fishery is managed in the federal Exclusive Economic Zone under a fishery
management plan developed by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Costello et al.
1979). Analysis of the fishery between 1981 and 1985 indicated that the resource was fully used at
that time and had begun to show a decline in catch per unit effort and landings (Phares 1992).
Commercial catch per trip on the Atlantic coast increased linearly from 1993-1997, after which
catch rates stabilized at around 40 pounds per trip (Fig. 3). Catch rates on the gulf coast increased
steadily through 2001, declined in 2002 and 2003, then held steady at about 70 pound per trip
during 2003-2006. (Fig 4).
Download complete report
(including figures)
Status and Trends 2007 Report
Florida’s Inshore and Nearshore Species
by Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute