To see this page as it is meant to appear please use a Javascript enabled browser. There have been big losses for fishers in Southwest Florida. Create your own seafood platter now available with stone crab! “We see a lot of people ordering (seafood) online or going to the grocery store and buying and eating at home. “It’s super bad,” Canfield said. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save. Claws are sold by size, generally in four sizes: medium, large, jumbo, and colossal. Graves said the COVID-19 pandemic has fishermen on edge because most commercially harvested claws are sold to restaurants across Florida. His first book. Book your reservations and view menu online at www.bitesbubbles.com/temptation-menu. They are given a time limit in order to maintain a sustainable population. They are given a time limit in order to maintain a sustainable population. “I have a family to feed and it’s tough. – For an additional $5 you get their amazing cheesy bread and signature salad! CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. “Probably in four or five years, we’ll be able to start catching three or three-and-a-half million pounds (annually) like we used to.”. “But we just don’t know what restaurants are going to do this year in Florida, which are the largest consumers of the crab,” he said. Every Night When Available, Fall Temptation Menu at Bites & Bubbles- Three Courses with choices for only $42! To be kept, claws must be 2.75 inches (70 mm) long, measured from the tips of the immovable finger to the first joint. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? By not catching enough crabs, Canfield is not getting enough cash to pay his bills. Florida’s $30 million stone crab industry is snapping mad over the state’s decision to reduce by five weeks the seven-month harvest season for what is widely considered a … There have been big losses for fishers in Southwest Florida. It’s going to be a tough summer. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Special price begins now and runs while supplies last. Not even a small fish in sight. We’re going to start selling off some of our business stuff.”. Last season, Canfield and his crew were bringing in about 100 pounds on a bad day. The catch varies from year to year, ranging between 2.0 and 3.5 million in the period 1982–2009, overwhelmingly from the Gulf coast (as opposed to Atlantic coast). “Retail, I think, is strong,” Graves said. This year, he said they would come back with around 5 pounds, which is not enough to cover the salary for the crew. The difference of crabs caught from this past season to the last several seasons is drastic. The season started Thursday and ends May 1. Florida Keys commercial fishermen began the 2020-2021 stone crab harvest season Thursday amid new Florida fishing rules designed to increase future stocks of the tasty crab claws and concerns about consumer demand for this year's harvest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Florida Keys commercial fishermen began the 2020-2021 stone crab harvest season Thursday amid new Florida fishing rules designed to increase future stocks of the tasty crab … Trap modifications must be completed by the 2023-2024 season, but Gary Graves, vice president of Keys Fisheries, one of the state’s largest processors of the tasty claws, said many commercial fishermen’s traps in the Florida Keys are already compliant. Stone crab season is HERE! Worst stone crab season in a decade, crabbers say. Sizes offered: medium, large and jumbo. As the peak time to catch stone crabs recently ended, crabbers are calling it the worst season in at least a decade. Florida stone crab season is back – legal for harvest from October 15 until May 15. We open at 5pm. One restaurant owner said she had to pass on stone crabs this season because she would have had to pass along the price to customers and it was too much. Canfield is already looking ahead, hoping that there will be no hurricanes this season and no red tide. Call for details (407) 615-8888. New regulations, enforced by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, include increasing the minimum size of a harvested claw from 2 3/4 inches (7 centimeters) to 2 7/8 inches (7.3 centimeters); reducing the harvest season by two weeks and modifying traps to have a 2 3/16-inch (5.5-centimeter) escape ring. 4 teens attack boy at home, run his mother over with a van following romantic dispute, Openly bisexual, autistic candidate wins election for state House seat, Watchdogs urge transparency as execs from DC firm floated for Biden administration, In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, a seafood processor at Keys Fisheries in Marathon, Fla., raises a basket of stone crab claws Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. Dennis Canfield has been out on his boat, the Shelley Kelley catching crabs for the last 22 years. For AYCE Stone Crab At Johnnie’s Hideaway: – On Mondays only The Monterey Bay Aquarium has given the Floridian stone crab fishery its highest rating of “Best Choice” for maintaining high fishing standards and working hard to keep the stone crab a viable fishery.