“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times” pretty much sums up Florida’s 2018-19 stone crab harvest season.
The season from Oct. 15 to May 15, 2019, saw its lowest landings in history — about 1.9 million pounds. The likely blame goes to a whole host of environmental factors, including a stubborn two-year red tide bloom along the southwest Florida coast; the Category 5 fall blitzkrieg by Hurricane Michael in the panhandle; and the hangover from Hurricane Irma’s 2017 raking of the Keys’ fertile bay bottom.
But stone crab wholesale value skyrocketed to a record $30 million, fueled by strong consumer demand in a robust U.S. economy that kept trappers working despite meager harvests.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: National Fisherman
