How are stone crabs caught?

Pig’s feet for bait

Out in St. James City on Pine Island, at Island Crab, pig’s feet are part of the conversation. Stone crabs aren’t particular about appearances when it comes to dinner. They like their bait dirty, and pig’s feet happen to be something they like.

It’s not what you’d expect from a creature that ends up as one of Florida’s most sought-after seafood delicacies. That’s part of what makes the stone crab business so interesting.

Heavy work on the water

A stone crab trap can weigh 40 to 50 pounds. Now imagine hauling one aboard a boat, checking what’s inside, and doing it again. And again. It’s physical work, and it takes people who know what they’re doing.

Some days the catch is good. Other days, the crabs have apparently decided to eat somewhere else. That’s fishing.

A panel that lets crabs go

Each trap has a wooden breakaway panel. If a trap’s line gets cut and the trap is lost, the panel wears away over time and opens an escape hole, so crabs and other marine life aren’t trapped for good. It’s a small detail with a big purpose, and one most people never think about while cracking claws at dinner.

“You can’t fake fresh.”

The Pinchers motto

From our boats to your plate

That’s a Pinchers saying, and it isn’t meant to sound fancy. It’s a plain description of the work behind the meal. Tony Phelan has been around restaurants most of his life, and his enthusiasm for stone crab still comes through when he talks about it. Grant shares it. For both of them, the seafood is tied to the people and places that make this stretch of Florida special.

So the next time someone at your table asks where stone crab comes from, you’ll have a good story to tell. Just maybe wait until everyone’s finished eating before you bring up the bait.