We're well into the six-month stone-crab season and by at least one estimate the harvest is half what it should be. The Florida Keys Noter reports that this season may prove a "calamity" for a Keys fishing industry that relies on stone-crabs and experts are still scratching their heads.

Last year, there were more than 2.5 million pounds of stone crab claws taken during the October to May season. It was a bountiful harvest. Experts expected the haul to be smaller this year, as it often is after big seasons.

But the harvest is so low in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys that some restaurants are paying higher dockside prices, re-thinking their "all-you-can-eat" promises, and laying off staff.The exact reason for the drastic drop is a bit of a mystery. The baby stone-crab population appears healthy, which suggests that the overall water quality of the Gulf is not the culprit.

One state crustacean expert offered the Florida Keynoter several educated guesses about the drop. He said that two straight warm winters may have slowed stone-crab movement, that toxic red-tide blooms have been sighted in the Gulf, and that fishermen are seeing a lot of predatory octopi.