Virginia is famous for its blue crabs, mostly in the Chesapeake Bay. Commercial crabbers supply much of the region with top quality crabs.

Blue crabs are served steamed whole, as fried or broiled soft crabs, or in dishes such as crabcakes.

Virginia blue crab numbers have declined in recent years. The total harvest of crabs has dropped from 94 million pounds in 2000 to 67 million pounds in 2006. 2007 Chesapeake Bay blue crab populations were estimated at 143 million, down 70 percent from previous levels.

Overharvesting, loss of underwater grass beds and oyster reefs, sea surface temperature changes and declining water quality are all contributing factors in the decline of Chesapeake Bay and Virginia crab populations.

Virginia has a wealth of finfish. Virginia fish include flounder, rockfish, sea bass, gray trout, drumfish, spot, croaker, sharks and more.

Summer Flounder

Flounder are the most popular Virginia fish among seafood lovers. They are typically 2-8 lbs with mild tasting white flesh. Flounder are served in a variety of ways, the most common being filleted and fried or broiled. Virginia flounder are sometimes stuffed with local crab meat and then baked.

Striped Bass or "Rockfish"

Striped Bass, known in Virginia as rockfish are a heavy bodied saltwater fish. They have a disctintive flavor and firm flaky meat. Rockfish are available wild caught or farm raised. They are delicious fried, grilled or broiled. Rockfish are commonly a few lbs although 50 lb fish are sometimes caught.

Bluefin Tuna

For the most part bluefin tuna are a sport fish in Virginia. They are plentiful from June thru late summer and Virginia charter boats are ready to provide excellent fishing from ports such as Chincoteague Island and Wachapreague

Yellowfin Tuna

Virginia has excellent catches of yellowfin tuna from late spring thru late fall. In addition to catching fresh tuna on a charter boat or private boat, seafood lovers will find fresh yellowfin tuna in local restaurants and seafood markets in season.

Gray Trout

Virginia is home to gray trout or weakfish. These fish historically have wild population fluctuations. Virginia anglers and seafood lovers enjoyed enormous numbers of fish thru the 1970's and 80's. The fishes numbers fell drastically after and these fish are less common today.

Gray trout and their close cousins the speckled trout are both attractive fish with silvery sides. The fillets are soft and flavorful.

These fish can be as small as 12 inches but can also reach weights of 10 lbs or more.

Virginia Is fortunate to have a rich history of oyster harvesting. The Chesapeake Bay once held enormous amounts of oysters and some oyster harvesting still occurs there. The James river and other Virginia areas yield high quality oysters.

The seaside areas of Virginia also produce some of the highest quality oysters on the USA east coast. Chincoteague Island is known for it's excellent salty oysters and other seafood.

Virginia is known for its excellent oysters. Virginia sales of wild and farmed product totaled close to 5 million oysters in 2007. While this is far from the millions of bushels of wild oysters that were once harvested, recent advances in oyster mariculture have save the industry and demand is stronger than ever for high quality live oysters for raw consumption.

Hard clams are caught wild or grown in much of Virginia waters. Watermen harvest clams by hand much as it was done 100 years ago. Other workers use patent tong rigs to catch wild hard clams in waters of the Chesapeake Bay or inshore coastal areas. Virginia mariculture operations grow clams from seed up to 1-2" which are prized for steaming or eaten raw.

Virginia harvesters sold over 200 million clams in 2007!

The following are some of the seafood delicacies that you might find during your fishing adventure to Virginia.

Clam Chowder - a rich soup using clams, vegetables and either a tomato based or dairy based broth.

Clams - The most popular are hard clams which are eaten raw, steamed or in dishes such as chowders.

Lobsters - large crustaceans, highly prized as a seafood delicacy. Northern or American lobsters are caught off the coast of Virginia and are sometimes sold locally.

Mahi-mahi - dolphinfish; a brightly colored pelagic fish found in the open ocean of the Virginia coast. Mahi mahi is a white fish with a distinctive flavor. The meat is high in Omega 3 oil. Mahi mahi is often grilled or broiled.

Oysters - shellfish, often served raw or steamed in the shell. Virginia oysters are widely recognized as being among the best oysters on the USA east coast.

Shrimp - a term for several species of small crustaceans. Wild American shrimp include white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus), brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus), pink shrimp (Penaeus duorarum), royal red shrimp (Pleoticus robustus or Hymenopenaeus robustus) and rock shrimp (Sicyonia brevirostris). Shrimp are caught in nearby North Carolina and immediately trucked to Virginia.

Fishermen and seafood lovers can also visit www.fresh-seafood.net for a wide range of articles, news, recipes and suppliers of top quality fresh seafood that is available locally or shipped to your door.