Cortez’s top seafood distributor expects lower price for newly shortened stone crab season

Third-generation Cortezian Karen Bell refuses to grumble when asked about how business is going at her dining destination Star Fish Company and its popular sister restaurant Tide Tables, which also hugs the water in historic Cortez fishing village.

“It’s a little off but better than a lot of people are doing, so I’m not complaining at all,” she said while on the phone Wednesday morning multitasking. “I’m just glad we’re functioning as well as we are. We never really closed. Same as Tide Tables. We’re doing fine. The numbers are still down, but not terrible.

“I honestly don’t know yet if we’re seeing people from up north; usually by mid-October they start arriving,” Bell continues. “It’s locals right now supporting us. I’m curious what (tourist) season and stone crab season are going to be like.” 

Yes, the usually lucrative, newly shortened stone crab season that starts Oct. 15. 

In addition to running her Star Fish Co. restaurant and market that will soon be offering stone crab claws and bowls of the popular stone crab chowder, Bell owns and operates the large A.P. Bell Fish Co. seafood distributor next door. (She co-owns Tide Tables, which does not serve stone crab). A.P. Bell, established in 1940, supplies restaurants across the country and around the world with grouper, mullet and more, including stone crab claws.

More:10 best waterfront restaurants for outdoor dining around Anna Maria Island

On Friday, Bell’s fleet of commercial fishing vessels will carry fishermen to put out their stone crab traps. Meanwhile, she’s concerned that the price of domestic lobster is down nationally “because restaurants are not back at full force,” and that will be the same case with stone crab, another seafood delicacy. 

“With so many restaurants not back to normal, price is just down,” Bell says. “I’m warning the crabbers to expect a lower price.”

And that’s not the only potential setback faced by local commercial fishermen. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently approved changes to stone crab regulations.

“Florida’s stone crab fishery has experienced a long-term decline in harvest and is likely undergoing overfishing,” reads the statement issued July 22. “FWC staff worked with stakeholders on these changes that are intended to increase the stone crab population and build resiliency in the fishery.”

More:10 most famous Bradenton area restaurants everyone should visit

The changes include moving the season end date from May 15 to May 1. 

“I sent a letter,” Bell says. “I really didn’t like that they removed the end of the season, getting rid of Mother’s Day. That I wasn’t thrilled with. My issue was I never saw the science as to why they’re doing it. They usually do have a good reason, but I just didn’t see it. It’s hard without knowing where they got the info.”

Bell adds, “I pay attention to people who come here for Easter and Mother’s Day, and stone crab claws is what they expect, but maybe they will buy grouper.” 

FWC will also be requiring an escape ring in stone crab traps before the start of the 2023-24 season, increasing the minimum claw size, and limiting the possession of whole stone crabs on the water to two checker boxes, which are used to hold crabs onboard a vessel before they are measured and the legal-sized claws are removed.

“That’s probably not a bad idea,” Bell says of the escape ring. “Same with the boxes. It’s the size limit we’re concerned about, but we’ll just have to wait and see what it does.”

More:Best restaurants for stone crab in Sarasota-Manatee

Wade Tatangelo is the Herald-Tribune’s entertainment editor overseeing the weekly Ticket publication. Email him at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com.