Outer Banks Seafood Festival

What We Do

The Outer Banks Seafood Festival provides the opportunity to learn more about our local fishing industry and heritage. Come and watch live demonstrations, meet the watermen and see the boats involved in bringing fresh seafood to your table. Celebrate our rich, seafood heritage and discover what it has done for our local community.

View all of the scheduled talks and demos on the HOOK ‘EM & COOK ‘EM STAGE in the Fishing Village on our Event Schedule page.

Event Schedule

Education

Chicamacomico Life Saving Station

Learn about how we used to help vessels in distress and the dangerous swims that the surfmen took to save lives.

NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island

NC Catch

Promoting North Carolina seafood and the fishing families who provide the catch. Working to educate consumers on the importance of buying local seafood.

NC Coastal Federation

Learn about coastal cleanups and why their programs follow the tagline, "No wetlands, no seafood".

NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

Got to be NC Seafood program

NC Division of Marine Fisheries

Learn about fisheries management and how scientists determine the health of fish population.

NC Oyster Trail

Learn about the importance of oysters and where oysters can be found in North Carolina.

Network for Endangered Sea Turtles - NEST

Learn about the natural history of sea turtles and how this group helps nesting sea turtles here in the OBX.

North Carolina Marine Patrol

North Carolina Sea Grant

Learn about local seafood that you can find seasonaly in Outer Banks fish markets and how to recognize quality.

North Carolina Watermen United

Learn about the watermen and how we can support and protect their livelihood.

US Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxillary

Learn about boater safety and current ways we help vessels in distress.

The Boats & COMMERCIAL GEAR

There will be a variety of boats and commercial fishing gear on display during the Festival. We encourage you to walk around, try your hand at commercial gear as part of our “Fishermen Games”, and chat with some of the hardworking fishers that bring fresh North Carolina Seafood to your table.

Cast Net

A circular net thrown by hand that weights down and closes to trap fish. Activity: Participants practice throwing the net to scoop up “fish” to win a prize.

Crab Pot

A wire mesh box trap used to catch crabs. Activity: Visitors can compete in a timed challenge to shake rubber crabs out of the pot to win a prize. Also, walk through our Crab Pot Maze - a large-scale replica of the interior compartments of a crab pot – to the bait well to grab a treat!

Gill Net

A wall of netting designed to catch fish by their gills based on the gaps in the weave. Activity: A live net-building demonstration where visitors can pass fake fish through different mesh sizes to see how gear selectivity targets specific fish sizes.

Pound Net

A large, stationary net system used to channel fish into an enclosed pocket. Activity: An interactive walkthrough display where visitors can crawl through the net structure.

Shrimp Trawl Turtle Excluder Device (TED)

A specialized grid integrated into a shrimp net that allows sea turtles to escape while retaining the catch. Activity: A crawl-through exhibit demonstrating how sea turtles safely exit commercial fishing gear.