A Chesapeake Bay workboat tied up at a seafood plant

50+ years serving Maryland's seafood industry

Standing up for the people who bring in the catch.

For more than 50 years, the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association has represented Maryland's seafood industry: the processors, watermen, wholesalers, and restaurants who depend on a healthy Bay to earn a living.

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50+ Years representing the industry
80+ Active member businesses
2 Coasts served (East & Gulf)

Who we are

A voice for Maryland's seafood industry.

The Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association is a nonprofit formed more than 50 years ago to represent the seafood processing industry in Maryland. Since then it has grown to include businesses all along the East and Gulf Coasts.

Small business owners, seafood processors, retailers, wholesalers, restaurants, and watermen all depend on a healthy resource to make a living. CBSIA works to protect that resource, and the livelihoods that rely on it.

Today more than 80 active members range from crab meat processors to shipping-material suppliers and restaurants. We connect each of them to an information network that includes the local and federal legislators whose decisions shape the future of seafood in Maryland and beyond.

Workers culling oysters in a Maryland seafood house
Oyster culling, at the heart of Maryland's seafood economy.

Our mission

Our commitments to the industry.

We work on the issues that decide whether the seafood industry survives and thrives: in the water, in the plants, and in the halls of government.

  • Protect the resource

    Reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and safeguard the resource the industry depends on.

  • A seat at the table

    Raise the visibility of CBSIA and its members so the industry has a voice in shaping future management plans.

  • Represent members

    Speak for the industry before state and federal agencies, the Maryland General Assembly, and the U.S. Congress.

  • Quality assurance

    Sponsor a voluntary crab meat quality-control program conducted with the University of Maryland.

  • A reliable workforce

    Protect continued access to seasonal labor for crab meat and oyster processing through the H-2B Guest Worker Program.

  • Keep everyone informed

    Provide timely information to both the industry and consumers on the issues that affect seafood.

  • Solve real problems

    Help individual companies work through specific challenges, case by case.

  • Fund the future

    Secure research funding that makes Maryland seafood more competitive in global wholesale and retail markets.

Leadership

Led by people who know the water.

Bill Sieling, Executive Vice President of CBSIA

Bill Sieling

Executive Vice President

Bill owned a private oyster business in Chincoteague Bay from 1965 to 1966. He served at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources from 1968 to 1988 as a Marine Extension Agent and Natural Resource Manager, then as a Seafood Marketing Specialist at the Maryland Department of Agriculture from 1988 to 2000. Since 2001 he has worked as a seasonal seafood technician with the University of Maryland Extension Service.

Today Bill holds a part-time, pro bono position as Executive Vice President of CBSIA, a nonprofit trade association made up of seafood processors, watermen, buyers, dealers, and restaurant owners.

Officers

  • Jack BrooksPresident
  • Jimmy PokrandtVice President
  • Mark CropperSecretary/Treasurer
  • Bill SielingExecutive Vice President

Board of Directors

  • Casey Todd
  • Jerry Harris
  • Jay Newcomb
  • Clay Brooks
  • Aubrey Vincent
  • Joe Spurry
  • Brook Hayden
  • Derick Hall

Today's challenges

The industry is up against a lot.

CBSIA works for small business. These are the pressures our members face every season.

CBSIA members standing behind a banner reading Save American Jobs, Support H-2B

CBSIA members standing up for the H-2B Guest Worker Program, the labor lifeline for Maryland's crab and oyster processors.

A 2022 CBSIA economic-impact study projected what a severe H-2B shortfall would cost Maryland:

$141M Potential loss to Maryland's economy
846–1,257 Maryland jobs put at risk
3.5× American jobs per H-2B crab picker

Source: CBSIA 2022 H-2B Economic Impact Study

01

Over-regulation

Arbitrary rules and government indifference to the hardship they create, with little recognition of the toll on local economies across Maryland's Eastern and Western Shores.

02

Unfair imports

Ever-increasing competition from imported seafood products, especially from Venezuela, that are only randomly inspected.

03

Shrinking supply

Growing difficulty obtaining raw product for processing and distribution.

04

Public misunderstanding

Limited public awareness of the real problems facing local processors and watermen.

05

Labor shortages

H-2B guest worker shortages driven by inconsistent, unpredictable legislation.

Important links for further information

Maryland Watermen's Association Maryland Seafood Maryland DNR Fisheries

Our Work

Results that protect the industry.

A record of advocacy, research, and on-the-ground problem solving for Maryland seafood.

  1. Fought unfair imports at the ITC

    Spearheaded a successful campaign to petition the International Trade Commission for relief from unfair competition by imported crab meat.

  2. Measured the cost of regulation

    Conducted an economic-impact study of DNR's proposed regulation prohibiting possession of sponge crabs after July 1.

  3. Pursued competitiveness

    Initiated research into new ways to make Maryland seafood businesses more competitive.

  4. Led on guest worker reform

    Spearheaded an ongoing campaign for a workable solution to H-2B guest worker legislation and the chronic labor shortage it creates.

  5. Kept Congress engaged

    Continue to work with legislators in Congress to formulate regulations that serve both guest workers and the industry.

  6. Held the data to account

    Sponsored an analysis of 20 years of reported Maryland crab harvests against DNR's own crab population data, exposing the inconsistency between DNR's harvest regulations and its stated conservation goals.

Affiliation

A member of the Southern Shrimp Alliance.

CBSIA is a member of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, a coalition of shrimp fishermen, processors, and seafood businesses across eight Gulf and South Atlantic states. The Alliance carries the industry's case to Washington, pressing Congress and the federal agencies for the trade enforcement, honest labeling, and fair rules that keep American seafood production strong against unfairly traded imports.

Learn about the Southern Shrimp Alliance

Membership

Join the people working for the industry.

If you have a stake in the success of the seafood industry, anywhere in the country, we'd welcome you as a member. Membership connects you to an information network, a unified voice before regulators and lawmakers, and a community that has had each other's backs for half a century.

Membership application

Fill this out and we'll follow up. Annual dues are paid by check made out to CBSIA and mailed to Bill Sieling, Executive Vice President, 26 Farragut Road, Annapolis, MD 21403.

Application type *
Membership category *

Membership

Our members.

The companies, watermen, suppliers, and restaurants that make up CBSIA, alongside the agencies and partners we work with across the industry.

Members

  • A.E. Phillips & SonBaltimore, MD
  • AT-WorksPrincess Anne, MD
  • Bay City CrabAurora, NC
  • Bay Hundred SeafoodSt. Michaels, MD
  • BayVanguard BankCambridge, MD
  • Capt. Phips Seafood & IceSecretary, MD
  • CAS Pack Corp.Quantico, MD
  • Cowart Seafood Corp.Lottsburg, VA
  • Diamond Shoal SeafoodOriental, NC
  • E. Goodwin & SonsJessup, MD
  • Easton Ice CompanyCambridge, MD
  • Fisherman's InnGrasonville, MD
  • Frog Island SeafoodElizabeth City, NC
  • Fulcher's Point Pride SeafoodOriental, NC
  • Fulcher's SeafoodAlliance, NC
  • G. W. Hall & SonFishing Creek, MD
  • Gay's SeafoodEaston, MD
  • Graham & RollinsHampton, VA
  • Harris Family PartnershipChester, MD
  • Harris Seafood Co.Grasonville, MD
  • J.M. Clayton CompanyCambridge, MD
  • Jeri's SeafoodAnahuac, TX
  • Kent Island Watermen's AssociationRock Hall, MD
  • Kool Ice & Seafood Co.Cambridge, MD
  • Lindy's SeafoodWoolford, MD
  • M. Hamilton & SonsStevensville, MD
  • Madison Bay Seafood CompanyMadison, MD
  • Metompkin Bay Oyster Co.Crisfield, MD
  • Newman Seafood Co.Swan Quarter, NC
  • Ocean Odyssey SeafoodCambridge, MD
  • Old Salty's SeafoodChurch Creek, MD
  • P.T. Hambleton SeafoodBozman, MD
  • Phillips Crab HouseOcean City, MD
  • Quality Crab Co.Elizabeth City, NC
  • Reliant Fish CompanyJessup, MD
  • Rippons Bros. SeafoodHoopersville, MD
  • Russell Hall Seafood Co.Fishing Creek, MD
  • Sea FarmsHudgins, VA
  • Shop Cove Seafood & IceColtons Point, MD
  • Simmons Chesapeake Bay SeafoodFishing Creek, MD
  • The Crab Claw RestaurantSt. Michaels, MD
  • Victory PackagingJessup, MD
  • W.A. Clark, Jr. & Son SeafoodChestertown, MD
  • Will Brown's Truck RepairCambridge, MD

Partners & agencies

  • Dorchester County Council Cambridge, MD
  • MARBIDCO Annapolis, MD
  • Maryland Department of Agriculture Annapolis, MD
  • Maryland Department of Natural Resources Annapolis, MD
  • Maryland Food Center Authority Jessup, MD
  • Maryland Watermen's Association Annapolis, MD
  • Oyster Recovery Partnership Annapolis, MD
  • Southern Shrimp Alliance New Port Richey, FL
  • University of Maryland Extension Statewide
  • Virginia Seafood Association Newport News, VA
  • Virginia Seafood Council Yorktown, VA

Contact

Get in touch.

Questions about membership, the industry, or an upcoming event? Reach out. We're glad to help.

  • Address 26 Farragut Road
    Annapolis, Maryland 21403
  • Phone 410-507-3249
    Bill Sieling, Executive Vice President

CBSIA is a trade association. We represent and advocate for the people and businesses of Maryland's seafood industry, but we don't sell seafood of any kind, live or otherwise.