The Bay is mostly known for its seafood production, especially blue crabs, clams and oysters.
In the middle of the 20th century, the Bay supported 9,000 full-time watermen, according to one account.
Today, the body of water is less productive than it used to be because of runoff from urban areas (mostly on the Western Shore) and farms (especially on the Eastern Shore and in the Susquehanna River watershed), over-harvesting, and invasion of foreign species.

The plentiful oyster harvests led to the development of the skipjack, the state boat of Maryland, which is the only remaining working boat type in the United States still under sail power.
Other characteristic bay-area workboats include sail-powered boats such as the log canoe, the pungy, the bugeye, and the motorized Chesapeake Bay deadrise, the state boat of Virginia.

In contrast to harvesting wild oysters, oyster farming is a growing industry for the Bay to help maintain the estuary's productivity as well as a natural effort for filtering impurities such as excess nutrients from the water in an effort to reduce the effects of man-made pollution.
The Chesapeake Bay Program is using oysters to reduce the amount of nitrogen compounds entering the Chesapeake Bay.

Oysters are hermaphroditic and will change gender at least once during their lifetime, often starting as male and ending as female; there are numerous ways to cook and eat them, as well as recipes and sauces to accompany oyster dishes.
One account:
The Chesapeake oyster – sometimes called Chesapeake white gold – has a flavor and texture that begs connoisseurs to come back and shuck just a few more.

— Kendra Bailey Morris, NPR, 2007
The Bay is famous for its rockfish, a regional name for striped bass.
Once on the verge of extinction, rockfish have made a significant comeback because of legislative action that put a moratorium on rockfishing, which allowed the species to re-populate.
Rockfish can now be fished in strictly controlled and limited quantities.
The Bay is mostly known for its seafood production, especially blue crabs, clams and oysters. In the middle of the 20th century, the Bay supported 9,000 full-time watermen, according to one account. Today, the body of water is less productive than it used to be because of runoff from urban areas (mostly on the Western Shore) and farms (especially on the Eastern Shore and in the Susquehanna River watershed), over-harvesting, and invasion of foreign species.
The plentiful oyster harvests led to the development of the skipjack, the state boat of Maryland, which is the only remaining working boat type in the United States still under sail power. Other characteristic bay-area workboats include sail-powered boats such as the log canoe, the pungy, the bugeye, and the motorized Chesapeake Bay deadrise, the state boat of Virginia.
In contrast to harvesting wild oysters, oyster farming is a growing industry for the Bay to help maintain the estuary's productivity as well as a natural effort for filtering impurities such as excess nutrients from the water in an effort to reduce the effects of man-made pollution. The Chesapeake Bay Program is using oysters to reduce the amount of nitrogen compounds entering the Chesapeake Bay.
Oysters are hermaphroditic and will change gender at least once during their lifetime, often starting as male and ending as female; there are numerous ways to cook and eat them, as well as recipes and sauces to accompany oyster dishes. One account:
The Chesapeake oyster – sometimes called Chesapeake white gold – has a flavor and texture that begs connoisseurs to come back and shuck just a few more.
— Kendra Bailey Morris, NPR, 2007
The Bay is famous for its rockfish, a regional name for striped bass. Once on the verge of extinction, rockfish have made a significant comeback because of legislative action that put a moratorium on rockfishing, which allowed the species to re-populate. Rockfish can now be fished in strictly controlled and limited quantities.
Chesapeake Bay