The claws are delicious, the hardware is not overbearing and the laws are logical—stone crab season is here again. Wednesday, Oct. 15 marks the opening of the 6-month-long stone crab season in Florida. Recreational harvesters can use up to five stone crab traps to catch a daily bag limit of one gallon of claws per person, per day (or two gallons per vessel, whichever is less).

Stone crab claws must be at least 2.75 inches in length to be harvested; claws may not be taken from egg-bearing females. It’s legal to remove both claws if both are of legal size, but not recommended because it leaves crabs defenseless when returned to water. Trappers should return stone crabs to water after legal-size claws are harvested so crabs can re-grow appendages.

Here’s what you need to know about stone crab hardware. Traps must have a buoy with a legible "R" at least two inches high, permanently affixed to it. (Buoys are not required if trap is attached to a dock.)

Traps must have harvester’s name and address affixed in legible letters. Traps also must be pulled in and out of boat manually; any vessel rigged with a trap puller is considered commercial harvest. It’s illegal to set traps in any navigational channel of the Intracoastal Waterway or any navigational channel maintained by a government agency. A Florida recreational fishing license is required to harvest stone crabs.