Thursday, October 15, is opening day. At Key Largo Fisheries, 1313 Ocean Bay Drive, the boats unload right at the fish house's own dock, and the stone crab is processed on site. Down U.S. 1 at Mile Marker 81.5, the raw bar at Islamorada Fish Company lists stone crab claws on its menu. The same seasonal product is sold at both ends of that stretch, and it is landed in the waters between them.
That short trip shapes the season. The fish house's own season guide says the first claws usually reach customers within a day or two of opening day, and the weeks when claws are most plentiful come early in the season.
The Claws Arrive on a Schedule Set Offshore
According to the Florida Keys tourism guide to stone crab season, about 40% of Florida's stone crab harvest comes from Keys waters. Some of that catch comes across Upper Keys docks like the one on Ocean Bay Drive.
The harvest also isn't spread evenly across the season. Key Largo Fisheries' guide to the 2026–2027 season runs from October 15, 2026 through May 1, 2027. It describes mid-October through December as the usual peak harvest window, when claws are "typically most abundant," and notes that demand and order queues build up around opening day. The legal season lasts more than six months. The busiest stretch at the docks is about ten weeks, and it starts next week.
That short window has a regulatory history behind it. Keys Weekly reported that in 2020 the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission raised the minimum legal claw length by an eighth of an inch and cut two weeks from the season, in response to a long decline in Keys landings. Since that change, the season has been shorter and the minimum claw larger than before 2020.
Mile Marker by Mile Marker, North to South
The places below are listed by location, running south along U.S. 1. Each one is tied to stone crab by its own website or by the county's tourism guide. None of them has published 2026 claw prices, so call ahead for size and price, especially in opening week.
| Mile marker | Stop | Address | The stone crab connection |
|---|---|---|---|
| MM 106 | Eat Florida Seafood, Bayside Market | 106240 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo | Second location, opened in 2026 |
| Oceanside, Key Largo | Eat Florida Seafood, Oceanside Market | 612 Portia Circle, Key Largo | Stone crab is one of the specialties the market lists |
| Ocean Bay Drive | Key Largo Fisheries | 1313 Ocean Bay Drive, Key Largo | Boats unload and stone crab is processed at its dock |
| MM 102.4 | The Fish House | 102401 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo | In-season claws arrive fresh off local boats |
| Tavernier | The Mar Bar | Casa Mar Village | Waterfront spot where commercial crabbers can be seen returning |
| MM 81.5 | Islamorada Fish Company | 81532 Overseas Hwy | Claws on the raw bar menu, retail market next door |
| MM 79.8 | Lazy Days | 79867 Overseas Hwy | Seafood market lists stone crab among its catch |
The new name on this list is at the top of the Keys. Eat Florida Seafood says it opened its Bayside Market at Mile Marker 106 in 2026, so it now has a shop on each side of the island along with the original Oceanside market on Portia Circle. Its website is already promoting the October 15 opener.
A few miles south, The Fish House at 102401 Overseas Highway is a restaurant and a market under one roof. It says its in-season stone crab comes fresh off local boats.
In Tavernier, the county's tourism guide points stone crab fans to The Mar Bar, a waterfront raw bar inside Casa Mar Village. The guide describes the spot as a good deal and a place where you can watch commercial crabbers come back with their catch. Of all the stops on this stretch, it may be the one where the boat and the plate are closest together.
Islamorada's two stops are just over a mile apart. Islamorada Fish Company at Mile Marker 81.5 has a retail market next door to the restaurant. Lazy Days at Mile Marker 79.8 runs its own seafood market, and the market's page names stone crab among its seafood.
What a Claw Cost Last October, and Why That Number Moved
No source has published a supply or price outlook for the 2026–27 season as of October 10, 2026. Last year's opening weeks are the most recent reference point, and they show how fast the numbers can change once the traps start coming up.
On October 14, 2025, the day before last season opened, the Sun Sentinel reported that operators expected decent supply and prices close to the previous spring's. One Delray Beach market planned to charge $24.99 a pound for mediums, $33.99 for large and $51.99 for jumbo. The same report said early supply signs looked healthy. One wholesaler had ordered 700 pounds from six suppliers, from the Keys up to Crystal River.
About ten days later, the Miami Herald reported that prices were running above 2024 levels. A supplier there described record crab catches, including from a source on Cudjoe Key. The Herald's October 25, 2025 report gave these estimates:
- Retail, as of late October 2025: $31 to $34 a pound for medium, $45 to $47 for large, $51 to $53 for extra-large
- One wholesaler's estimate, same report: $35 to $40 for medium, $50 to $60 for large, $65 to $75 for jumbo
Compared with the pre-season plan, mediums cost about a quarter more than expected within ten days. That happened in a week when the catch was described as strong. Plentiful claws and higher prices showed up together, which fits the Key Largo Fisheries description of demand peaking around opening day. Those 2025 figures are a snapshot of one October, not a forecast for this one.
The Weekend Key Largo Fisheries Opens Its Dock to a Fiesta
On Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25, the opening-week rush becomes a party. Key Largo Fisheries lists a Stone Crab Fiesta at 1313 Ocean Bay Drive, at the same dock where the claws come in.
The event listing describes fresh stone crab claw stations plus a lobster plate: a grilled split lobster with two sides and dessert. The ticket vendor sells that plate as the "Stone Crab Fiesta Lobster Platter" for $21.99. Cristabel plays on Saturday and Clockwork on Sunday.
The posted hours don't agree. The fish house's events page says 10 a.m. Saturday through 7:30 p.m. Sunday, the ticket page says 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and a third listing says 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The dates and address match everywhere, so confirm the hours with Key Largo Fisheries before you go.
The Fiesta falls on the second weekend of the season, right in the window the fish house's own guide calls the most abundant.
When the Traps Come With the Dock
On a canal or bayside lot in the Upper Keys, recreational stone crabbing can start from your own seawall. The FWC recreational stone crab page sets the season in state waters this way:
"Open Oct. 15 - May 1 (closed on May 2)."
Here's how the main rules work, according to FWC:
- Claws only, at a minimum length of 2 7/8 inches. No claws may be taken from egg-bearing crabs. After a legal claw is removed, the crab goes back in the water, where the claw can grow back.
- Registration. Recreational harvesters 16 and older complete a free trap registration. Each trap carries the harvester's name, address and unique registration number, with a limit of five registered traps per person.
- Daily limit. One gallon of claws per person or two gallons per vessel, whichever is less. Traps are pulled by hand in daylight and may not be set in marked navigation channels.
- Escape rings. Since the 2024–25 season, every wood or plastic trap needs an unobstructed 2 3/16-inch escape ring in a vertical outside wall. Wire traps need three unobstructed 2 3/8-inch rings.
The escape-ring rule is the newest of these. A trap that has sat under a dock since before the 2024–25 season may not have the required rings. The full rule text is on the FWC page.
At Islamorada Life Realty, Pierre-Marc Bellion keeps track of which Upper Keys canals, docks and seawalls work for life on the water, from where the crab traps go to how far it is to the nearest fish house. If you'd like to see waterfront homes where stone crab season starts at your own dock, choose Receive Exclusive Listings and we'll send them to you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
