I Went Crabbing on a Hidden American Island (200 residents, boat only)

Smith Island, Maryland, sits 12 miles into the Chesapeake Bay and is home to only around 200 full-time residents. I traveled there to spend a day crabbing with generational waterman Mark Kitching and understand why one of America’s oldest island communities is disappearing.

Along the way, I explored the island’s three communities, followed Maryland blue crabs from the water to markets across the country, learned how blue crabs become valuable soft-shell crabs, steamed and ate our catch, and met Mary Ada Marshall, the local legend who helped make Smith Island Cake Maryland’s official state dessert.

But behind the crabs, cake and remarkable hospitality is an uncertain future. Rising costs, difficult working conditions and a shrinking population are threatening a culture that has survived for centuries.

This is the story of the people keeping Smith Island alive.

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