Boats that fish the stone crabs are equipped with hydraulic hoists to help lift the 50 pound traps on board. Crabs are removed from the traps and put in a wooden box covered with a tarp. Since the crabs can breath air, they can live out of the water as long as they're kept wet. The stone crab claws are then measured to make sure they fall in the legal limit, and any legal size claws are snapped from the crab and the crab returned to the water. You see, it's only the claws that are eaten, and clawless crabs live just fine, plus the claws regenerate in just over a year to legal size again, when we can harvest them for next season.
Stone crabs are one of Florida's most delicious renewable resources.
Once the crab claws are brought back to shore, they are cooked to get them ready for sale. Big steel kettles fueled by propane burners are used to boil the claws, once the water is boiling the claws are dropped in for exactly nine minutes. Then the claws are dumped into a large vat of ice water, so the cooked meat won't stick to the inside of the shell. They are graded and sorted by size, then sent to market for you to enjoy. These claws are really good, especially served with drawn butter or a mustard sauce.