By FloridaKeysNewsBureau for SouthFloridaReporter.com, Oct. 18, 2015 – MARATHON, Florida Keys — Aaron Sutcliffe proved he is the most proficient cracker and consumer of Florida Keys stone crab claws by taking top honors in the fifth annual Stone Crab Eating Contest Saturday in Marathon.
The challenge, staged at Keys Fisheries Restaurant, celebrated the opening of the annual stone crab claw harvesting season. More than 30 contestants each cracked and cleanly ate their way through 25 stone crab claws, all vying to post the fastest time. Contestants were penalized for any meat left behind.
Sutcliffe, who finished in 14 minutes and 20 seconds, said he learned to eat stone crab claws quickly as a child.
“In my family if you don’t eat the stone crabs fast, you don’t get anything,” he said. “And I love the things. They’re delicious.”
He said his secret weapon was using a butter knife versus a commercial cracker or mallet.
“You crack with this (handle) side and eat with this (blade) side,” he said. “It’s very efficient.”
Among two-person team competitors, Greg D’Agostino and Rick Palmer, both residents of Marathon, earned top honors by turning in a time of 8:50.
An average of 2.6 million pounds of stone crab claws are harvested annually, with about 40 percent coming from waters off the Florida Keys. The succulent crustacean is considered a renewable resource, since legal-size claws are harvested and the crab is returned to the water to grow new extremities.
Stone crab season runs from Oct. 15 to May 15.
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