have small bodies but huge, meaty claws for breaking open oyster shells. Fishermen can amputate both claws if both make the size limit. We dine on crabs in a variety of ways. All crusher claws that were regenerated regrew as pincer claws. This allows the crab time to regenerate its harvested claw while gathering food and fending off predators with the remaining claw. The empirical occurrence of regenerated claws in fishery harvests is low, with studies on stone crabs calculating from less than 10% (Davis et al., 1978), to 13% (Florida Fish and Wildlife Con… But if you want the biggest claws and there are a lot of crabs, then take the biggest one and leave the other. On top of the lab experiments this paper covers a field study observing the relative frequencies of different types of breaks that occur in the removal of claws such as a clean break or a forced break. Add about 1⁄2 c (0.12 l) of water, or enough to cover the bottom of the pan. In most states, it is illegal to harvest the entire crab. They also followed the crabs over 11 months to document growth (including molting, perhaps with brand new claws) and survival. I just dont understand why they would make it legal, if it were bad for the crab population. Bigger ones even less. I would be interested in hearing the responses from others on the board that are more experienced than myself. Does taking both claws allow for more healthy, non-harvested crabs to produce even more crabs? In the wild if clawless crabs did not find readily available food that did not need to be crushed they may end up hungry. A forced break occurs with more pulling of the leg. The amount of each consumed by the crab was measured each day. I am a doctoral candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University. Based outside Pittsburgh, Jamie Rankin began her career as a professional writer as a news and sports journalist with the "Daily Courier," a subsidiary of the "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review." I think thats kind of strange that FWC does that. Rankin, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and communications from Point Park University, has been writing sports and pet-related articles online since 2004. large cooked crab claws image by green308 from, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: Stone Crab, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: Recreational Stone Crabbing, Ocracoke Cottage: North Carolina Crabbing Regulations, Texas Parks and Wildlife: Crab and Ghost Shrimp Regulations. Anyone know what's best for the overall crab population? This allows the crab time to regenerate its harvested claw while gathering food and fending off predators with the remaining claw. The water should not be boiling hot. The Consequences of Claw Removal on Stone Crabs Menippe spp. Her work has appeared in both publications. We take both if they are legal size..............only because they taste so good. Not trying to discount anyone's opinions, but so far that's all we've contributed (myself included). Yes crabs and shrimp grow new claws when they molt the next time. The Paper: Duermit, E., Kingsley-Smith, P. R., & Wilber, D. H. (2015). Wound size was an important factor in mortality and if the claw removal left a wound larger than 7 mm the crabs did not survive.