Proudly servicing the United States with sustainable seafood for more than 40 years.

SHORE SEAFOOD
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SHORE SEAFOOD
Home
History
Products
  • Chopped Clams
  • Clam Concentrate
  • Clam Strips
  • Half Shell Clams
  • Half Shell Oysters
  • Soft Shell Crabs
Brands
  • Chesapeake Bay Delights ™
  • Chilantic ™
  • Grand Pearl ™
Information
Safety
Staff
Contact
More
  • Home
  • History
  • Products
    • Chopped Clams
    • Clam Concentrate
    • Clam Strips
    • Half Shell Clams
    • Half Shell Oysters
    • Soft Shell Crabs
  • Brands
    • Chesapeake Bay Delights ™
    • Chilantic ™
    • Grand Pearl ™
  • Information
  • Safety
  • Staff
  • Contact
  • Home
  • History
  • Products
  • Brands
  • Information
  • Safety
  • Staff
  • Contact

The best soft shell crabs in the world.

about chesapeake bay delights

 The watermen of the Chesapeake Bay first introduced the soft shell crab to the seafood industry in the 1870's, just a few miles from our home in Virginia. Today, the soft shell crab represents a major Virginia fishery with the majority of its supply coming from the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Delights brand started in the late 1980's. Since then, our company has processed hundreds of millions of dozens of soft shell crabs through our facilities that have been consumed in restaurants all over the country, thanks to the trusted Chesapeake Bay Delights brand. Our soft shell crabs are synonymous with fresh, quality crabs that deliver time after time, order after order. That's the reason we have loyal customers that have trusted Chesapeake Bay Delights for years, and how our many long-term customer relationships began to form, which was truly the key to the successful start up of Shore Seafood. 


Contrary to the common belief, soft shell crabs are not a separate species of crab, but are blue crabs, Callinectus Sapidus, that have shed, or molted, their hard outer shells in preparation for growth. In order for a crab to grow, this hard exoskeleton must shed, and when it does, a soft, pliable crab emerges, expands its soft, new shell and then conforms to its new body. At this point, it is known as a "soft shell crab" or more simply, a "soft crab". A soft shell crab will be soft for about 2-3 hours before their shell begins to harden again, therefore, it is crucial  the crab be removed from the water immediately once it's shed its shell. In 2007, the company installed their first crab floats which are holding tanks powered by pumps that moves water from the bay through the tanks to provide the blue crabs a genuine environment to accelerate the shedding process. Because of this, shedding soft shell crabs is a very labor-intensive operation and staff must be present 24/7 during season.

Fresh

Quality

Frozen

We only ship crabs the same day they come out of the water, or shed their shell. It doesn't get any fresher than that. Weak crabs don't get shipped.

Frozen

Quality

Frozen

Professionally cut and cleaned, uniformly weighed and graded, frozen fresh to preserve freshness, extended shelf life.. the benefits go on and on.

Quality

Quality

Experience

Crabs from the Chesapeake Bay are the best soft crabs you can get. So you're guaranteed to be getting the best soft shell crabs money can buy. 

Experience

convenience

Experience

Soft shells are our expertise. Our long-time staff are highly experienced with the soft shell crab inspecting and packing process. We guarantee a very minimal to non-existent mortality rate.

Appearance

convenience

convenience

Soft and lively or we don't pack it. We also don't hold crabs over, not even for a day. If a crab doesn't get shipped the day it sheds, they get sent over to our frozen team to be cut and cleaned.

convenience

convenience

convenience

We only ship soft shell crabs the day they shed. This procedure guarantees a fresh delivery and allows our customers added shelf life for unforeseen delivery delays to their customer. 


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