Happy Birthday to Bobby Abner!

November 13, 2023 (Chesapeake Beach, MD) - This month, longtime Town of Chesapeake Beach business owner of 66 years and prior member of Town Council (1976-1978), Bobby Abner, celebrates his 82nd birthday. 

Bobby started crabbing at 11 from a pier in Randle Cliff, Calvert County, Maryland, just a mile from where his business stands today. He and his brother Tommy brought home their catch; their mother would steam the crabs, and their father would take them to Washington, DC, to sell them for $1 per dozen. During the summer of the early 1950s, the money the Abner brothers earned selling crabs bought their school clothes. Bobby went to work crabbing for $5 a day later attending the University of Maryland and taking a job working for the government as a surveyor. His passion for the water drew him back to the Chesapeake Bay. Bobby recalls at a turning point in his life asking his father, "What am I to be?" His father's advice was straightforward, if you do what you're really interested in, you will excel. This advice guides Bobby even today as he continues to work the water and run multiple successful businesses. 

Bobby officially launched his crabbing business in 1964 and opened Abner’s Crab House on Labor Day in 1966. Today, Bobby runs Abner's Crab House, A&A Gaming, Bay Abner Marina, and Abner Seafood. Bobby initiated his business with the ownership of just over an acre of land along Fishing Creek in 1966, where Abner’s Crab House stands today, later purchasing a neighboring marina while continuing with the crabbing and restaurant businesses. Today, his enterprise occupies 10 acres of property on Fishing Creek. He harvests crabs from nearly 600 crab pots daily and owns an Oyster Aquacultural business with 4 oyster leases totaling 96.8 acres on the Chesapeake Bay.

Stop by and tell him to have a Happy Birthday month!

Hear more about the Life of a Waterman: A documentary on the life and work of Bobby Abner produced by the Bayside History Museum Filmed, edited by Katriel Oberman, Olivia Mclung, and Wyatt Garrett. Music found by Wyatt Garrett. 

Think your picking a Maryland Crab the right way? Take a look at Bobby Abner's demonstration to see: 

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