As a fourth generation Eastern Shore waterman, Bobby Whaples knows the delicate balance between success and failure
Written by Joe Willey  |  Photography by Jill Jasuta
Watermen live with a different perspective. They are witnesses to the breathtaking merger of rivers and land and the soggy beauty of the Eastern Shore. But they are also independent business owners making decisions that will matter for generations.

A husband-wife team combine to catch Maryland crabs in the Chesapeake Bay and serve them fresh in Ocean City
Written by Allison Pappas  |   Photography by Jay Fleming 
Maryland is known for having some of the world’s tastiest crabs , but what makes the Old Line State’s crabs the best? Kristen and Nick Crook, the husband-wife owners of The Best Crabs Seafood Co.

Cambridge’s J.M. Clayton Company is the world’s oldest working crab business
Written by Joe Willey  |  Photography by Jay Fleming
A quiet icon of the Maryland crabbing industry sits at the shoulder of Cambridge Creek and the Choptank River. For over 130 years, this Dorchester County business has provided quality crab meat to generations of seafood lovers throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Lifelong Smith Island Waterman Mark Kitching continues his family’s tradition of crabbing the Chesapeake Bay
 Written by Joe Willey  |  Photography by Jay Fleming
Perhaps more knowledge about the Chesapeake blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) can be found in the little over nine square miles of Smith Island, MD, than anywhere else on earth. Multiple generations of watermen have made Smith Island their home,