MARATHON, Florida Keys – Fifty contestants. Ten teams of two. Twenty-five fresh stone crab claws. And one ticking clock.
In the Florida Keys this weekend, a tasty tradition to kick off stone crab season proved there is indeed a method to chomping your way through dozens of stone crab claws in record time...and it’s not just a good appetite.
Stone crab connoisseurs donned their best crab couture Saturday afternoon for the 14th annual Stone Crab Eating Contest at Keys Fisheries. The goal? Crack and consume 25 tasty stone crab claws and pick them completely clean in the fastest time possible. Participants received a penalty for each piece of claw meat left behind.
And contestants came prepared! From hammers to mallets to nut crackers, they raided their utensil drawers and toolboxes to help them crack open and chow down the succulent stone crabs. But in the end, it was a spoon — a very large spoon — that helped a Florida man take the top prize.
“So, my strategy was a spoon...a lot bigger of a spoon,” said first place winner Jonathan Martinescu of Fort Myers, Florida. “Two years ago, I actually used a smaller spoon so this year the secret was a bigger spoon.”
This was the second time Martinescu entered the contest. And said his winning time of 9 minutes and 46 second was even sweeter because it happened on the same day as his four-year wedding anniversary.
In the team competition, Tom Zajac and Ryan Beckett of Marathon, Florida, took first prize with a time of 6 minutes 15 seconds. In 2023 and 2024, Zajac won in this same category with another teammate.
The top three winners and teams took home commemorative awards including a Florida Keys gift basket.
The Florida Keys are responsible for 40% of the state's stone crab harvest. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, that averages about 2 million pounds annually. Stone crabs are also considered a renewable resource because of the crabs' ability to re-grow harvested claws.
Keys Fisheries, who hosted the contest, is the largest processor of stone crab claws in Florida. Stone crab harvest season runs from Oct. 15 to May 1 each year.
Proceeds from the event’s entry fees benefit the Florida Keys Hope Walk.
