Florida’s stone crab season is open from Oct. 15 through May 1, bringing commercial and recreational harvesters back onto the water in the Florida Keys and across the state.
Lt. Brian Sapp of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said there are no new stone crab regulations this season. The most recent rule change, adopted in 2024, requires traps to have an escape ring.
For recreational harvesters, claws must measure at least 2 7/8 inches. Traps must include an escape ring measuring 2 3/16 inches in diameter, and each trap must be marked with the harvester’s full name, address and the trap registration number issued with the license.
Each harvester may use up to five stone crab traps. Egg-bearing stone crabs must be returned to the water unharmed. The daily limit is one gallon of claws per person or two gallons per vessel, whichever is less.
FWC officers planned water patrols around the season opening to watch for early harvesting and to make sure vessels are pulling only their own traps and buoys. Officers also conduct dockside inspections, Sapp said. The U.S. Coast Guard may relay observed resource violations to FWC during its patrols.
Sapp said FWC averages one or two clear trap-robbing cases annually in Monroe County. The agency has emphasized communication with commercial fishermen, he said, and has added equipment including long-range cameras, night vision and underwater cameras on patrol vessels.
People with information about suspected trap theft or tampering can call FWC’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 1-888-404-3922, dial *FWC or #FWC from a cellphone, submit a report through the FWC Wildlife Alert Online Form, or visit the Marathon FWC office at 2796 Overseas Highway. Details such as the trap’s GPS location, buoy color, timing and vessels of interest can help officers investigate, Sapp said.
