Fishermen say stone crab season best in recent years

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LEE COUNTY, Fla. – Get them while they’re available! The stone crab season ended Friday.

The fresh catch will be available again starting in October, but the past few years haven’t been great for stone crab season.

“Last year they had a problem with the octopus going in and eating the stone crabs right out of the trap,” said Amanda Canada, owner of Capt. Johnny’s Seafood.

However, fishermen tell WINK News that this season showed improvement.

“Season was good,” said Brenton Akers with Island Crab Company. “Three, four, five years ago stone crab fishing was amazing, so hopefully we can get that back in Southwest Florida.”

Prices range throughout the season. During the holidays, stone crabs get a little more pricey. Also, when supply is down and demand is high, prices tend to increase.

Canada says the prices right now are the lowest they’ve been in years.

“When the year started out, they were actually higher than last year, and they’ve gone down. Right now they’re the lowest they’ve been in three years.”

Stores will continue to sell frozen stone crabs throughout the summer.

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