Stone crab season starts Oct. 15 and Everglades City, a small, isolated fishing village south of Naples, is a place to feast on this Florida favorite in an authenic Old Florida atmosphere.
Florida Seafood

Paella is a popular seafood dish in Florida. (c) Can Stock Photo / AntonioGravante
Florida’s seafood industry accounts for more than 84 percent of the nation’s grouper, pompano, mullet, stone crab, pink shrimp, spiny lobsters and Spanish mackerel.
The Florida Seafood Festival celebrates Apalachicola’s vibrant fishing industry. This guide features camping, lodging and things to do near Apalachicola. The 2023 festival is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 3-4.
Four of my favorite stops in the Keys are a little hard to find, and that’s part of their charm. They’re off the Overseas Highway in neighborhoods — and they’re worth discovering.
The regular season for harvesting Florida spiny lobster begins August 6 and continues through March 31. Here’s what you need to know, how to catch Florida’s spiny lobster and how to cook it.
If you want to savor the flavor of the Florida Keys, spend a little time at a tiki bar. Our favorites profiled here are unpretentious waterfront spots where you’ll get good fresh fish, fried everything and a big serving of Keys atmosphere.
The St. Augustine Lions Club Spring Festival has reimagined its seafood festival past.
This tiny fishing village wedged between Bradenton and Anna Marie Island celebrates its rich heritage as a commercial fishing hub.
The Everglades Seafood Festival in Everglades City brings fresh local seafood, country music, carnival rides and arts and crafts to this historic outpost on the edge of the Everglades.
Nothing says Florida like a seafood festival. Our comprehensive calendar is updated frequently.
Everyone wants to discover that funky inexpensive spot where locals go. In Key West, that would be Hogfish Bar & Grill on Stock Island, which wins raves for fresh off-the-boat seafood.
Due to Hurricane Ian, the annual Naples Stone Crab Festival has been postponed. A new date has not been announced.
Seafood festivals are common in Florida, but Cedar Key Seafood Festival is uncommonly appealing. Not only is Cedar Key historic and charming, it’s also clam capital of America. Although Cedar Key was whacked by a hurricane, the festival is ON.
A low-key destination for kayaking, fishing, snorkeling and camping in our guide for things to do in the Lower Florida Keys.
The Marathon Seafood Festival calls itself the Original Marathon Seafood Festival to emphasize it’s the real deal – indigenous and authentic. Marathon is a fishing town, and you don’t get fish any fresher than here, unless you catch it yourself.
The Grant Seafood Festival is put on by community volunteers and has been held every year since 1966 in this riverside enclave between Melbourne and Sebastian.
This isn’t frozen shrimp or imported shrimp or farmed shrimp. The huge boiling pots at the Fort Myers Beach Shrimp Festival are filled with fresh, right-off-the-boat Gulf pink shrimp. Members of the Lions Club have perfected the cooking technique over 50 years of Shrimp Festivals.