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Stone Crabs Menippe Mercenaaria

Stone Crabs Menippe Mercenaaria. Florida’s finest gourmet treat. Claw meat is firm in texture Sweet succulent flavor Ranks in the top ten commercially important marine species. Annual value is approximately four million dollars. Range of Stone Crabs. What does this mean to Wilmington?.

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Stone Crabs Menippe Mercenaaria

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  1. Stone CrabsMenippe Mercenaaria

  2. Florida’s finest gourmet treat. • Claw meat is firm in texture • Sweet succulent flavor • Ranks in the top ten commercially important marine species. • Annual value is approximately four million dollars.

  3. Range of Stone Crabs

  4. What does this mean to Wilmington?

  5. Why the Stone Crab calls Masonboro Jetty home? • Sandy bottom • Assortment of rocks • Tremendous algae growth • A wide variety of marine life

  6. Diving surveys indicate the density of stone crabs highest on the Gulf of Mexico side and lowest on the Atlantic side. None the less, stone crabs are territorial of their habitat.

  7. SEX • Takes place within burrows and crevices. • Males court the female for up to 12 hours. • During mating the male flips the female and hops on. • Mating can last six to eight hours. • Spawning takes place between May and August.

  8. Distinctive Characteristics • Oval shaped shell • Dark brownish red in color • Spotted with dusky gray • Two large claws

  9. The Claw • Renewable resource • Unmistakable black tips • Adults can generate tremendous crushing force with their smaller pincer • 19,000 pounds per square inch • Can crush an oyster shell like a grape. • Lined with jagged teeth used to cut tissue and shell.

  10. Captured Juvenile Stone Crab From Masonboro Jetty

  11. Captured Adult Stone Crab From Masonboro Jetty

  12. Final Thought Will stone crabs ever become commercially important in North Carolina?

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