Local Love: Sign Up for Chesapeake Bay Seafood Updates

You guys know I love good food, particularly when it's locally sourced. A few weeks ago, one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter, Steve Vilnit, asked me if I wanted to sign up for his email list serve. My first instinct was, ugh, email list serve... yawn. But, I'm absolutely addicted and just have to share it with you.

You see, Steve works for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and hosts an Chesapeake Bay Seafood Update email list serve that gives you the inside scoop on what's in season and what's headed to a restaurant near you. Basically, his job is to be the point person between Maryland fisherman and the chefs cooking your food.

Steve Vilnit (photo stolen from his Twitter avatar)

The Chesapeake Bay Seafood Update is kind of an insider deal aimed at restaurant owners and chefs, but I have become smitten with the weekly updates about what's running in the Bay and what restaurants are serving it up.

This week, I learned that the striped bass/rockfish season is seeing a near record-breaking catch this year, yellow perch (which have a very limited season) season is progressing and blue catfish is very limited right now. All that, plus Maryland crab season opens up April 1st and since we've had all of this warm weather, we could be cracking crabs early this year!

You don't think I'd sing all of these praises and then not tell you how to get in on the action, do you? Let's make a deal. I'll tell you where to go to sign up for the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Updates (link embedded)... you promise me that you'll seek local seafood on your menus. Don't be afraid to ask your chefs and servers where something comes from - most of them love eating local too!

PS. Yes, Steve, I am most definitely angling to get aboard for a fishing or crabbing expedition this spring.