Nearly 90% of Joe’s Crab Shack Locations Have Shut Down—and Vegan Seafood Is Thriving

It looks like Joe’s Crab Shack is on its way to rock bottom. Once a national chain with about 150 locations across the U.S., the restaurant is now a sinking ship, with just 15 still afloat. And that number is about to drop again when the Jacksonville, Florida, location closes later this month, leaving 14 remaining restaurants—a staggering nearly 90% loss.

This dramatic decline comes as more consumers turn away from the cruel fishing industry, which destroys the ocean’s delicate ecosystems and harms sensitive, feeling fish, crustaceans, and other animals who are caught and often crushed to death in large nets.

PETA Rocked the Boat

During one National Seafood Month, PETA launched a massive campaign urging everyone to respect sea animals by keeping them off their plates. We unveiled a giant crab billboard near a Joe’s Crab Shack location and other fish restaurants, declaring: “I’m ME, Not MEAT. See the Individual. Go Vegan.”

We also put the billboard up near Long John Silver’s and Red Lobster restaurants, which are now shrinking across the country. Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and shut down more than 100 locations, and Long John Silver’s closed more than 150 restaurants across the U.S. over the past few years.

The billboard served as a reminder that all crabs are clever, complex individuals with distinct personalities who value their own lives—but in the fishing industry, they experience constant fear and pain when humans tear them from their ocean homes and families, dismember them, or boil them alive at restaurants.

The Stone Crab Cold Truth

A PETA exposé of Florida’s stone crab industry revealed workers tearing claws off live crabs and tossing the mutilated animals back into the ocean, leaving them to die from their injuries or starve. This excruciating practice—which is only legal because of a disturbing loophole in Florida law—is standard across the industry.

To expose this cruelty, PETA took on Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach with a striking demonstration: A supporter covered in red body paint writhed atop a dinner plate while protesters stood nearby holding a banner that read, “It’s a Rip-Off! I Feel Pain, and I Need My Claws!”

We also amplified the message with a billboard declaring “I Need My Claws!”—a powerful reminder that these animals are individuals who suffer when humans tear their bodies apart.

The Tide Is Turning

A sea change is underway, and vegan seafood is riding the wave. Popular chains and restaurants are proving that you can enjoy tasty, ocean-inspired flavors without harming animals. Veggie Grill is reeling in fans with vegan salmon dinners, along with fishless filet burritos and tacos. Pinky Cole’s new restaurant concept, Voagies, serves up a Jamaican jerk “shrimp” wrap made entirely from plants. The happiest place on earth knows people want fish-friendly food, too! Disney World’s Magic Kingdom offers a lobster roll upgrade with its Heart of Palm and Artichoke Roll, and Disneyland’s Tiana’s Palace dishes out a rich, vegan gumbo.

Meanwhile, the cracks in the crab industry are impossible to ignore. Following reports that California has delayed the start of the Northern California crab fishing season due to elevated levels of domoic acid—a dangerous neurotoxin—PETA is offering to cover the cost of job training for crabbers who want to pivot out of the industry, including training to become crime scene cleaners or claw machine operators—jobs that involve gore or claws without killing our fellow animals. Interested? Email [email protected] to learn more!

Let Crabs Be Free

Crabs learn quickly and retain information, so they don’t repeat their mistakes. Scientists have found that crabs not only experience pain but also remember it and learn to avoid situations that previously caused them suffering. Like humans and all other animals, crabs value their lives.

The best thing you can do for our fellow animals, the planet, and your own health is to stop eating animals. Check out PETA’s guide to vegan seafood products, and browse our website for thousands of delicious, compassionate recipes.