Island Queen®
Cooked Stone Crab Claws
The stone crab fishery in the Bahamas is sustainable. Stone crabs are caught in specifically designed traps (that do not catch other species), just for stone crabs. When fishermen bring the traps to the surface, they remove the live crabs and then break off one of the claws (the larger claw of the two big pinchers). The other claw is left alone so that when the crab is put back in the ocean, it will be able to defend itself and feed itself. The claw that was removed grows back as soon the crab molts. (Molting is the process where the crustacean literally climbs out of its shell in order to grow. It will have a soft shell underneath the old shell. When the new shell comes in contact with the sea water, the shell will rapidly inflate with water and harden.)
The size of the harvested stone crab claw will vary. There are 5 size categories:
2.1 oz – 3.0 oz = Medium Grade
3.1 oz – 5.0 oz = Large Grade
5.1 oz – 8.0 oz = Jumbo Grade
8.1 oz – 10.0 oz = Colossal Grade
10.1 oz + up = Super Colossal Grade
Stone crab claws are cooked onboard the vessel (processed at sea) in order to lock in freshness and quality. They simply need to be thawed in the refrigerator before use, and then re-heated before eating.
