The RSPCA's calls to ban crabbing have been branded 'absolutely ridiculous' by fishing groups.
Crabs are capable of feeling pain and stress so parents should rethink taking their children crabbing over the bank holiday weekend, the animal welfare charity said.
It also wants the crustaceans to be protected in law.
Crabbing has a long history on British seasides - families dangle a line over the side of a quay to tempt a crab with a morsel of bread or bacon before temporarily placing them in a bucket of water.
Instead the RSPCA said people should watch crabs in rockpools and use crabbing buckets to collect pebbles.
But the calls have been branded those of 'jobsworths' who should stop 'sticking their oar in'.
Terry Morris, of Sea Fishing Poole, which has operated in Dorset since 1965, said a ban would 'destroy the livelihoods of thousands of businesses'.
'It is absolutely ridiculous and will cause a huge uproar.
Crabbing has long been a popular seaside activity among families, where crabs are enticed by bait on a line before being temporarily placed in a bucket of water
But the RSPCA has called for a ban on the pastime and said the crustaceans could feel pain
'Hundreds of families with children come here to get their pots and nets for crabbing and it is a lovely, cheap day out for them,' he said.
Mr Morris's business sells crabbing equipment, which includes crab buckets, lines, nets and bait, during the summer season.
'This is a tradition that has been going on for hundreds of years and a ban would destroy the industry and the livelihoods of thousands of businesses,' Mr Morris added.
'We tell the children to make sure the water isn't hot, is changed often and that the crabs are put back in the sea as soon as possible, so they are not harmed.
'With the fuel crisis holidays abroad are getting more expensive so this is the way for the family to do something together which is fun and affordable.
'The children get so excited and for the RSPCA to propose a ban makes me think they are a bunch of jobsworths who should stop sticking their oar in.'
Staff at a bait and tackle shop in nearby Swanage said they had never seen a crab mistreated in more than 20 years.
They labelled the proposed ban 'extreme and ridiculous'.
Charlotte Greasby, an RSPCA donor who has run Swanage Sea Fishing with her husband Tom for two decades, said: 'Crabbing keeps children outside for hours having fun and as a parent I would much rather they were doing that rather than stuck inside glued to their devices.
'It brings a sense of discovery but by the RSPCA's logic are they proposing a ban on rock pooling too, as people fish out starfish, or pond dipping?
'The crab is not hooked and it is released back into the water. In more than 20 years down here I have never seen the mistreatment of a crab.
'I donate to the RSPCA every month but I don't understand where they are coming from with this idea because it is extreme and ridiculous.'
Pictured: A crab held above a crabbing bucket in Weymouth. Businesses selling crabbing equipment said a ban would be 'absolutely ridiculous'
Rebecca Machin, a scientific and policy officer at the RSPCA, said crabs can feel stress when being suddenly taken out of their natural environment and from being in a small bucket of water with others.
She said: 'The science is quite well established that crab and lobsters show evidence of sentience.
'We know they can feel stress when handled incorrectly. They can get stressed being in overcrowded areas.
'The idea of taking a crab out of the water suddenly causes it stress, even for half an hour being in a bucket of water which is going to be in warmer conditions than in the sea and that is going to cause it more stress and increase mortality rates.
'If you have other crabs in the bucket they can start being aggressive to each other and they can drop some of their limbs like an escape response to predation.
'I prefer just watching animals in rock pools, if you just sit quietly and see how they all interact and how they live their lives when they are not under stress.
'We hope people will think again about doing an activity that causes harm to animals.'
She said shops that sell crabbing equipment 'will be okay' if such a ban ever came into existence.
Ms Machin said: 'People can still enjoy using buckets to collect pebbles or to make sandcastles. The lines can cause terrible entanglements to marine life and are a threat.
'I think these shops will find ways to adapt to that, I think in the long run they will be OK.'