Trish Berry
Honeyme Sleeveless Top (size Small)
Well, what’s a girl to do? She’s vegan/vegetarian, and the Windjammer has stone crab claws for dinner the last night of the cruise on the Utopia of the Seas. Horrible dilemma.
On the last evening of any cruise we are busy enjoying parts of the Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship we are on at that time, so we forego eating in the Main Dining Room and eat at the Windjammer, that decadent buffet that has every type of food you can imagine.
I have not had stone crab claws for about 30 years. The last time was at Joe’s Stone Crab, an award-winning restaurant located in Miami Beach, Florida. The James Beard Foundation awarded it the America’s Classic Award in 1998.
Joe’s Stone Crab made around $50 million in sales in the year 2024. It is that popular and has been since it was founded in 1913.
Stone crabs are called stone crabs because their claws are much like stone – impenetrable. It gives the crab good protection, and those stonelike claws can easily crush any adversary.
I’m getting off track. Back to my dilemma.
They looked delicious. They would be easy to break apart because a saw mark was located at each section where the crab meat was to be found.
The amount of stone crab claws on my plate (2-3 pounds) would cost $149.99 on Amazon or at other markets that sell them (2025).
As soon as the pile of stone crab claws diminished, more were added. People came and went with plates of stone crab claws.
Yes, I put a serving on my plate and sat at the table.
I pondered. I thought. I looked at what was on my plate. I took yoga breaths. Should I or shouldn’t I?
Being a vegetarian is not difficult for the most part. BUT, there are those times when you come across one of your favorite foods after you have stopped eating things that have faces. A stone crab has a face.
Putting on my glasses just made the vision before me more appetizing. The claws still looked as appealing as before.
I began to giggle at my indecisiveness. Do I? Don’t I?
Fresh stone crab claws are available from October 15 until May 15 during the legal catch period. At other times during the year, frozen stone crab claws are served, and they are just as tasty.
Many restaurants around the world serve stone crab claws, with Florida being the state with the most restaurants where fresh stone crab claws are offered on the menu.
It is illegal to harvest claws from female stone crabs with eggs. The eggs can be easily seen. The female crab has to be returned to the ocean immediately.
Stone crabs are usually caught in a baited crab trap. Usually, only one claw is removed from the crab, and the crab is returned to the sea to rejuvenate and grow back the claw that was removed.
It takes approximately three years for the new claw to be of legal size, which is 2-7/8 inches.
Stone crab traps are required to have an escape hatch so undersized crabs and other creatures can escape. Only the larger crabs are forced to stay in the trap.
Bait that is used to attract stone crabs is strong smelling, something offensive in odor, like fish heads.
Professional stone crab fishermen place their traps in offshore waters, not far from a coast. The stone crab traps are placed in a line for easy retrieval, much like the Deadliest Catch TV series showed when they were crabbing for king crabs in the Bering Sea.
Great care has to be used when removing the one claw. It has to be broken cleanly at the joint. The diaphragm has to be left intact. The crab then seals the wound and begins the growth of a new claw.
If a stone crab claw is removed improperly, it can cause the crab to die.
Legally, both claws can be removed if they are of the correct size, but this leaves the crab without any defense mechanism in a large sea where predators abound.
There are professional stone crab hunters and then there are recreational stone crab hunters.
Recreational hunters (over age 16) need to register their stone crab traps online and are given a registration number that has to be displayed on their traps and buoys.
Recreational stone crab fishermen gather the crabs by hand while snorkeling or scuba diving. Stone crabs like to hide in rocky edges in the sea so the stone crab hunter knows where to go for his prey.
Acquiring meat, either from the pasture or the sea or the chicken coop, is a brutal job. When broken down into steps, as I’ve shown you about the stone crab claw hunting, it is brutal.
Those are all happy pictures of me above because I’m a happy person. But the stone crab claws made me nervous.
Did I eat the stone crab claws?
No.
I decided I would continue to get my protein from plants, and I did.
My husband ate the stone crab claws.
After getting home and reading about the process of taking a claw here and a claw there, it sounded like yanking off a hand.
If you eat meat, that’s great. I’m too old for it to matter whether I eat meat or not, but it’s just a choice I made about 25 years ago. Mainly, to maintain my weight and control cholesterol and my love of animals (anything with a face).
Safe travels to you!! Good eating to you, whether it had a face or not!!
Do only the things that make you happy. Eat only the foods that make you happy. Wear only the clothes that make you happy. Your happiness will spread and bring smiles and happiness to others.
We all have only one life, and the days go by quickly.
Be happy!!! Have fun!!! Sail away to that happiness!!
Hugs
(P.S. Donate a can of dog food or cat food to your local SPCA. Throw in some kitty litter or old towels and old linens. Each item helps them care for the animals. Foster a few kitties. I could not foster, as I would soon have 100 cats in my house and be known as the old cat lady living down the block!)