Stone Crab Habitat
Did you ever sat down to a crab claw dinner and wondered where those succulent meaty tidbits came from? Most crab claws in restaurants come from the blue crab, but the stone crab is becoming increasingly popular. Some people say it tastes like---no, not chicken---lobster! What does this stone crab look like before it hits your plate? Where does it come from and what determines its habitat?
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Appearance
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The stone crab, or Menippe Mercenaria, is a crustacean that lives in the Gulf waters of the United States. The stone crab's shell, or carapace, is reddish-brown and speckled with gray on top and tan underneath, about four inches wide and three and one-half inches long. Both males and females have large tan, black-tipped front claws, with one claw decidedly larger than the other. They use these claws to crush oyster shells so they can eat the meat inside. These claws detach from the stone crab's body easily to aid escape from tight spaces or predators, but regenerate in about one year, growing larger with each regeneration. Stone crabs live about six to eight years.
Habitat
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The habitat of the stone crab reflects its needs throughout its life cycle. Habitat must provide protection for eggs as well as for young crabs that have not yet developed their large claws for defense. Females are also at risk during breeding season since they must shed their carapace before mating. A ready source of food for hatchlings, juveniles, and adults is necessary and this also determines the stone crab's habitat.
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Adult Stone Crab Habitat
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Adult stone crabs live in bays, sounds, jetties, and oyster reefs along the Gulf coast. They burrow down beneath discarded oyster shells or mud to escape detection by predators, such as octopi, horse conch, predatory fish like groupers and sea bass, sea turtles, and humans, and to lay in wait for a potential meal of oysters, mollusks, other smaller crustaceans, and sea worms. In the spring and summer, the stone crab female seeks a rock crevice or stone pile to hide in, since she must shed her hard, protective carapace to mate. After she deposits 500,000 to one million eggs in a sponge-like sac beneath her body, the male stands guard over her hiding place. When the larvae hatch, they feed on plankton and plants floating in the ocean waters.
Juvenile Stone Crab Habitat
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Unlike adult stone crabs, juvenile stone crabs do not burrow, but hide in rock crevices, under beds of sea grass, or in deep channels on the ocean floor. Though their diet is not well-known, juvenile stone crabs are considered opportunistic feeders, eating anything and everything they can find, including the sea grass they live in, and at times, even each other. Juveniles become adults in about one year, after which they can emerge to less protected feeding grounds, since by then they have grown their large pincer claw and the even larger crusher claw, and are more able to defend themselves.
Stone Crab Harvesting
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Trapping stone crabs is still the most reliable source of stone crab claws. Though marine farming has been successful in other species, the logistics of stone crab farming make it too time-consuming or costly for economic feasibility. Underwater cages are used to trap the stone crabs, and then pulled up to reveal the catch. One claw is removed and the stone crab is returned to its habitat to regenerate the claw over the next year's time. These stone crab claws, up to one pound in weight, are highly prized for their delicious meat.
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References
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- Photo Credit Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net
