Grading and Harvesting by "Annah Bethel"

Grading Stone Crab is fun! When you grade a Stone Crab you have to measure from the elbow joint to the tip of the unmovable part of the pincher. The legal length needs to be at least 2 3/4". And, crab will grow the claw back. 

Taking the claw off of the crab is called harvesting.  How you take the claw off of the crab is to hold both claws and twist the biggest one.  Be careful the claw may still move. If you remove the claw right it will not hurt the crab.  But, if you see meat come out with the claw, the crab might bleed to death and die, because it tears the muscles. 

Stone crabs have finger prints.  You can tell if a crab has had a claw harvested before.  If the lines are straight and solid the claw has never been taken. But if the claw has dashed lines, it has been harvested or pulled off by a predator. 

You can also tell if they are right-handed or left-handed.  If they are right-handed the crusher claw will be on that side.

Video - How to properly remove a claw.