For centuries, professional fishermen and amateurs alike have headed to the Chesapeake Bay and surrounding tributaries to go crabbing. While some have boats filled with dozens of crab traps, others have merely a net, patiently waiting to catch a blue crab, and later take it home to steam and devour every last bit of delicious goodness. These vintage photos will make you appreciate the tradition of crabbing in Maryland.
- These men are arranging floats for soft-shell crabs in Oxford, circa 1899.
Wikimedia Commons / Charles Hugh Stevenson
- This photo taken in 1973 shows a young group catching crabs from a Chesapeake Bay dock.
Wikimedia Commons / Lien, Mike, Photographer
- Also in 1973, these men can be seen crabbing off a deteriorating dock near Port Covington in the Baltimore Harbor.
Wikimedia Commons / Jim Pickerell
- Zoom out, and you can see just how much pollution and junk litters the waters they’re crabbing in.
Wikimedia Commons / Jim Pickerell, 1936-, Photographer
- These men are packing live crabs into barrels for shipment. Photo taken in Oxford in 1899.
Wikimedia Commons / Charles Hugh Stevenson
- These scientists are lowering a trawl net into the Chesapeake Bay to capture blue crabs. Photo taken circa 1972.
Wikimedia Commons / ENERGY.GOV
- They then check the size, quantity, and sex of blue crabs in the Bay.
Wikimedia Commons / ENERGY.GOV
- And here is one of the scientists again, showing the difference between female and male blue crabs.
Wikimedia Commons / ENERGY.GOV
- An image of Crisfield in 1920, where crabbing was, and still is, an important part of life.
Wikimedia Commons / E. P. Churchill Jr.
- A wooden cooker for crabs. Photo taken in 1920.
Wikimedia Commons / E. P. Churchill Jr.
Do you have family members who have told you stories about what the crabbing industry was like long ago? Do you currently catch blue crabs? Or like most of us, do you just enjoy feasting on them all summer long? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Wikimedia Commons / Charles Hugh Stevenson
Wikimedia Commons / Lien, Mike, Photographer
Wikimedia Commons / Jim Pickerell
Wikimedia Commons / Jim Pickerell, 1936-, Photographer
Wikimedia Commons / ENERGY.GOV
Wikimedia Commons / E. P. Churchill Jr.
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