Seafood Safety & Handling
Essential guidelines for safely handling, transporting, and preparing fresh Chesapeake Bay seafood.
At Pickup
Bring a cooler with ice or ice packs to every pickup. Keep live crabs and other live shellfish separate from ice — direct contact with standing water can kill them prematurely. Inspect your order before leaving.
Transportation
- Live seafood: Keep in a ventilated container in a cool area of your vehicle, out of direct sun. Do not seal in airtight bags.
- Cooked crabs: Transport in a cooler; consume within 2 hours of pickup if not refrigerated.
- Soft shell: Keep cool and cook the same day.
Storage at Home
Live crabs should be cooked the same day. Cooked crabs keep in the refrigerator for 2–3 days. Store live shellfish in breathable containers — never airtight bags — in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
Preparation Safety
Wash hands and all surfaces after handling raw seafood. Cook shellfish to an internal temperature of 145°F. Discard any shellfish that do not open during cooking.