Patch Readers: Maryland Crabs Are King

Maryland diners want to know if a restaurant or market isn't selling locally caught crabs.

Del. Eric Luedtke of Montgomery County has introduced a bill that would require markets and restaurants to identify the state or country of origin of their crabs, reports WTOP. He says Maryland diners will pay top dollar for local crabmeat.

"We believe that if you go into a restaurant, you should know if the crab meat you're ordering is from Maryland or from somewhere else," Luedtke says.

And Patch readers seem to agree, judging by comments you shared on the story.

On Bethesda-Chevy Chase Patch Polly wrote that she found a crab cake she loved, then was disappointed in when it switched to a "Maryland-style crab cake" that didn't taste like the blue crab she enjoyed.

"Personally, I love this bill. As a lifelong Maryland resident and huge blue crab fan, we need this bill," she said.

A commenter using the screen name Shaka Zulu said, "I agree with Polly, but I would take a little bit farther and just stop importing crabs from any other nation, as we should with millions of different things."

But one Edgewater-Davidsonville reader says state leaders have more important fish to fry, if you will.

Commenting as macgeek, the reader says, "This is MUCH more important than legislation getting emergency unemployment back to 1.5M people that need it to pay bills and keep a roof over their head. I can't afford to eat crabs even with a job, so this don't effect me either way."

One reader suggested introducing new varieties of crab to the Maryland shore to boost the industry. 

“This is potentially a huge industry with substantial export possibilities as well,” writes Vijay Umesh Tonse on Kensington Patch. “The productivity of the crab industry may also be increaseable by introducing such varieties as the Stone Crabs from Florida to the warmer waters of Maryland and setting up farms to produce those Stone Crab Claws, where only the claws are harvested and the living crab is released back into the water to allow it to grow a new set of claws for the next harvest.”

What do you think of the proposed legislation? Tell us in comments.