No New Jersey fisheries products were used in the production of this social media publication. Money Island Marina is pleased to be a host site for New Jersey crabbers but does not offer the sale of crabs within the state. We do not buy , sell, barter, trade or advertise New Jersey fishery products but rather offer our site and resources to these independent businesses. This information is published as a convenience to shareholders but is not an offer to buy or sell crabs.
This is typical non-holiday cooperative pricing for live local blue claw crabs from local harvesters:
HARD SHELL under 5″: From $.50 to $1.00
HARD SHELL over 5″ but under 5 1/2″: From $1.00 to $2.00
HARD SHELL over 5 1/2″: From $2.00 to $3.00
HARD SHELL over 6″: From $3.00 to $5.00
SHEDDER: $1.00 to $2.00
SOFT SHELL: typically $4.00 to $5.00
Why prices change
Crab pricing varies daily. Supply and demand are the biggest factors affecting the price and these are mostly outside of our control. But there are some pricing factors that you can control. Our commercial crabbers typically harvest blue claw crabs in smaller quantities
, often in response to specific orders or expected demand. We sell live ‘swimming crabs’ at the marina in a tank individually. Crabs are then bagged or boxed for live transport. Marina members may use on-site equipment to cook and clean their crabs but most transport them live.How to order in advance
Call or text with the quantity and date needed. We will forward the message to a crabber who will respond with an electric invoice of crabs are available. Price quote is good for 30 minutes. The crabber will confirm receipt of payment and confirm the order. Once paid, the order is confirmed and you are protected from any price change. Occasionally, rarely, a paid order is not filled due to circumstances outside of our control. In that case you receive a full refund and an apology, but no seafood fulfillment system is 100% perfect.
Delivery
We offer delivery when a driver is available at approximately the same rate as Uber. We will cost-match the lowest cost current option and confirm the price with you in advance. An online calculator of delivery cost is available here.
Get the best deal
These factors affect your price that you can control:
1) advance payment (reduces price more than any other factor)
2) pickup or delivery details (time and location).
3) number of crabs (discounts possible over 50 crabs)
4) day of the week (crabs are more expensive on Friday and Saturday)
Quantity needed
Most people plan to serve 3 to 6 crabs per person. Your guests may be different but this is our experience in hosting dozens of crab dinners for a variety of groups of dinner guests.
Numeric Grading
Crabs are traditionally graded numerically (#1s, 2s, 3s). We do not use that system because that grading varies between sellers and locations and even recently changed here in the local commercial crab market. In other words, the term “#1s” doesn’t have any precise or widely agreed upon meaning so it has limited value to crab buyers.
Bushel pricing
Crabs are traditionally packed and sold in bushel baskets. We do not use this method but will accommodate a customer request for a bushel basket. (We do sell crab baskets, new or used, with or without crabs). If you buy a bushel of crabs from anyone, be aware that it includes some dead crabs. The industry standard is up to 20% dead crabs.
Crab cleaning
We only sell live crabs as required by food safety laws but is is common for crab customers to hire an independent local dock worker to clean crabs in exchange for a tip. We can usually help make this connection on request but the details of the arrangement are up to you. Cleaned crabs should be kept on ice or refrigerated.
Last minute deals
We often offer special daily deals on mixed sized crabs or unsold quantities at he marina. In most cases the price remains the same but the offer includes an extra number of crabs. Those deals are posted on social media and are valid only until those specific daily crabs are sold on that day. These deals are short-lived
, sometimes as short as 30 minutes before unsold crabs must be shipped to a wholesale dealer.
