Stone Crab

The Stone crabs are a brown colour with grey spots and a tanny colour underneath. They are large but have different sized claws with males having the more dominant (larger) claws.

These crabs feed on other crustaceans such as oysters and have a lifespan of 6-7 years. The Stone crabs lose their limbs on a regular basis to escape predation and other dangers, but the beauty of this crab is that their limbs grow back. What is even better, is that every time it grows back, the claw will be larger than the last time. This is good for us humans as a consumer because if we master breaking the claws in the right places, then there is no need to kill them. Thus we are hypothetically, recycling them back into the water, keeping up their numbers and keeping enough to maintain this species to a high level.

The stone crab can be found along the Gulf coast and they choose to live in oyster reefs, bay bottoms and rock jetties. From here, they can effectively avoid predation. 

Consisting of hinged claws with a very dark colour and yellow & red bands, these Stone crabs have tiny bodies which is why only the claws are eaten. Like some other variations of crab, use the bodies to make a broth or stock for other recipes and even a sauce for your current crab recipe. To be within the law,  the claws must be 2.5 inches long. Only 1 of the claws is allowed to be removed for eating from which they have to be returned to the water. This will preserve the numbers and even better for everyone, will keep the prices down enabling the chance for anybody to try a high quality crab as the stone crab's meat is reportedly meant to have a similar taste to lobster.