How long does it take a stone crab to regenerate a claw?
That depends on a lot of things. If the crab has been declawed some months before it molts, it will produce a new claw that’s about 2/3 of the size of the original claw. Usually, adult male crabs molt in the summer, and adult female crabs molt in the fall. If the crab lost its claw just before molting, its claw will be smallersometimes substantially smaller. Then, each time the crab molts, the size of the regenerated claw will be closer to the size of the original claw. A legal-sized crab can regenerate a claw that is legal-sized (harvestable) in about three molts (i.e., three years). A very large crab that lost its claw can regenerate a legal-sized claw in one molt.
