Cats Paw Coastal Packing Co. is a seafood company based on the Chesapeake Bay. Inspired by the nation’s largest tidal estuary, we source wild-caught fish and shellfish direct from local watermen to make delicious, ethically harvested, high-quality snacks and meals. Using chef expertise, our Buyboat Brand specializes in “kippered fish,” aka cured, smoked seafood products, created in homage to a time-honored tradition along these local waters and around the world. Cats Paw Coastal Packing Co. was founded by two old friends, Stephen Gerike and Dennis Powell, in 2024.
Three decades ago, Dennis found himself on the Chesapeake Bay like many a “come here”—lured by the pristine waterfowling grounds of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Before long, the South Carolina native, trained architect, and lifelong entrepreneur was living along the brackish marsh of the Choptank River, this time building a cast-iron pan business, Butter Pat Industries, which he would eventually sell to a little-known cooler company named YETI. He now resides in Talbot County with his wife, Matilde, and their two American Water Spaniels. They spend most of their time shooting the breeze with locals, paddling the surrounding tributaries, and buying fresh seafood from just down the road at P.T. Hambleton.
Stephen has lived most of his life between land and water. He spent summers at Long Beach Island along the New Jersey Pine Barrens, worked seasonal jobs in local fisheries, and enlisted in the Coast Guard. In the winters, he picked up shifts as a line cook, eventually completing a culinary apprenticeship and landing gigs in prestigious kitchens like the Treaty of Paris in Annapolis. As a trained chef and licensed boat captain, he later had a 25-year career in culinary research and development with the National Pork Board and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. He spent the last five years running oyster farms in the Mid-Atlantic, including here on the Chesapeake Bay. Stephen lives in the woods of Queen Anne’s County with his wife, Laura, and a gaggle of chickens.
