A warning for South Florida blue land crab lovers: While it might be that time of the year when Blue Crabs are scurrying all over the roads, taking them home is against the law. News cameras caught three different groups of people scooping up blue land crabs at the Dania Beach in southern Florida. Two of the groups refused to speak to reporters and drove away, taking the crabs with them. But a third group wasn’t afraid to talk about what they intended to do to the crabs – One man said he was going to use “some butter, some salt, some garlic, and just cook them up, boil them about 10 minutes and it’ll be good to go,” until learning that what he was going to do would be breaking the law. “We’ll take them to the beach or wherever they’re supposed to be going,” he said. “We’ll take them back where they’re supposed to go.” Indeed, he and his friends immediately released the crabs from the back of their pickup truck after learning of the Florida Fish and Wildlife regulations protecting them. Florida law prohibits anyone from harvesting blue land crabs except during the open season, which is from November through June 30. Anyone caught poaching the crabs could face a second-degree misdemeanor charge, a $500 fine and up to six months in prison.
