Seafood festivals, dining options spotlight bounty of Chesapeake Bay

BALTIMORE – September 13, 2011 – Maryland seafood has inspired countless menus, an array of festivals – even a yearly crab race. Blue crabs, oysters and rockfish (striped bass), after all, are Maryland icons.

Now, as summer fades into September, the Maryland Office of Tourism is calling attention to the overall significance of Maryland seafood, including events and festivals that celebrate seafood and the wide spectrum of options for fresh-seafood dining. Maryland's seafood industry is in the mainstream of local culture.

"Our seafood represents the treasured bounty of Maryland's single-greatest natural resource, the Chesapeake Bay," says Gov. Martin O'Malley. "Moreover, the state's seafood industry has an estimated value of $700 million. It includes more than 6,000 watermen who work on the bay and 70 processing plants that employ 1,200 people."

Margot A. Amelia, executive director of the tourism office, says: "Visitors to Maryland quickly find out what our residents have always known. Wherever you go in Maryland, you'll find delectable Chesapeake Bay cuisine – at one of our festivals, a dockside café, an informal crab house or an upscale restaurant."

The Seafood Marketing Program, a unit of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), provides a variety of consumer information concerning seafood. Its web site has recipes, nutritional information, a listing of companies that sell seafood directly to consumers, contests and a schedule of seafood festivals.

"September is a great month for Maryland crabs," says Noreen Eberly, director of the DNR program. "The crabs are the heaviest in the fall and prices start dropping. Overall, this time of year is a prominent one for seafood. You can keep enjoying it into October, Maryland Seafood Month."

Seafood events
Here are some events where Maryland seafood takes center stage in September:

The 10th annual Calvert County Watermen's Association Festival is Sept. 18 at Watermen's Wharf on Solomons Island. Work boats and charter boats compete for cash in a popular boat-docking contest. Deanna Dove, whose albums include Peace, Love & Crabs, performs at the festival. (Dove also sings the Star-Spangled Banner at the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs baseball game in Waldorf, Sept. 12.)

Also on Sept. 18, St. Mary's County restaurants offer Maryland seafood (among other selections) at the Taste of St. Mary's in Leonardtown. The event includes free entertainment and activities for kids.

Seafood eateries
View an insider's list of some of the best places to go for Maryland seafood. The list consists of recommendations from tourism professionals across the state.
 

Previous themes 
In August, the state's tourism office highlighted national parks in Maryland. Previous monthly themes have focused on: Maryland-made ice cream; local river outfitters; biking in Maryland; quirky and unique destinations; notable women in the state's history; Maryland's chocolatiers; the state's colonial heritage; outdoor adventure; lighthouses; buying local; girls' getaways; prominent gardens; bed and breakfasts; and Chesapeake Bay art.
To receive free Maryland travel information — Destination Maryland, Maryland Calendar of Events and a state highway map — by mail, call 800-719-5900. More information is available on the tourism office's web site, VisitMaryland.org.

About Maryland tourism 
The Maryland Office of Tourism is an agency of the Division of Tourism, Film and the Arts within the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. Recently reported visitor data shows that the state welcomed more than 32 million visitors in 2010. In 2009, visitors spent nearly $13.7 billion on travel-related expenses — generating close to $1.6 billion in state and local taxes and providing 134,000 jobs to Maryland residents.

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