Tag Archives: Florida Stone Crabbers Association
Large Claws a Good Sign for Stone Crab Season
“My grandfather started Kirk Fish Company in the late 1940s, early 1950s, we’re not exactly sure when,” Kelly Kirk said. “My dad grew up here on the docks. I grew up here on the docks. It’s been in the family since then. The season seems to be starting out decent. It’s so hard to tell this early on. It usually takes a solid two weeks before we can judge what the season will look like and what the catch will be. But from what I’m hearing from the crabbers locally, and up and down the coast, the crabs are healthy, they’re strong. I’m optimistic that it’s going to be a strong season.” One sign of a good stone crab season, according to Kirk, is the size of the claws. “It’s a good sign when you see a lot of big ones,” Kirk said. “We’re seeing quite a few big ones already. >click to read< 13:44
Florida stone crabbers asking FWC to hold off on new rules
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission may enforce tougher rules on fishing to help increase the stone crab population, but fishermen say that could destroy their business. We talked to some of the members of the Florida Stone Crabbers Association who say a one-two punch of COVID-19 and these new rules will make a bad situation even worse. “I’m afraid that’s it’s going to cripple the livelihood of so many people out there,” said Carrie Doxsee. FWC says the state’s stone crab population is declining due to overfishing. Video, >click to read< 09:59
