EXHIBIT 31.1


                                 CERTIFICATIONS
            Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

I, W. Moorhead Vermilye, certify that:

         1.    I have  reviewed  this  quarterly  report  on Form  10-Q of Shore
               Bancshares, Inc.;

         2.    Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any
               untrue  statement of a material  fact or omit to state a material
               fact  necessary  to make  the  statement  made,  in  light of the
               circumstances   under  which  such   statements  were  made,  not
               misleading  with respect to the period  covered by this quarterly
               report;

         3.    Based  on my  knowledge,  the  financial  statements,  and  other
               financial  information included in this quarterly report,  fairly
               present in all material respects the financial condition, results
               of  operations  and cash flows of the  registrant as of, and for,
               the periods presented in this quarterly report;

         4.    The registrant's other certifying  officers and I are responsible
               for   establishing  and  maintaining   disclosure   controls  and
               procedures  (as  defined  in  Exchange  Act Rules  13a-15(e)  and
               15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have:

               a.   Designed such disclosure controls and procedures,  or caused
                    such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under
                    our  supervision,   to  ensure  that  material   information
                    relating  to  the  registrant,  including  its  consolidated
                    subsidiaries,  is made  known to us by others  within  those
                    entities,  particularly  during  the  period  in which  this
                    quarterly report is being prepared; and

               b.   Evaluated the  effectiveness of the registrant's  disclosure
                    controls and  procedures  and  presented  in this  quarterly
                    report  our  conclusions  about  the  effectiveness  of  the
                    disclosure  controls  and  procedures,  as of the end of the
                    period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

               c.   Disclosed  in this  report  any  change in the  registrant's
                    internal  control over  financial  reporting  that  occurred
                    during the  registrant's  most recent  fiscal  quarter  (the
                    registrant's  fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual
                    report)  that  has  materially  affected,  or is  reasonably
                    likely  to  materially  affect,  the  registrant's  internal
                    control over financial reporting; and

         5.    The registrant's other certifying  officers and I have disclosed,
               based on our most  recent  evaluation  of internal  control  over
               financial reporting,  to the registrant's  auditors and the audit
               committee  of the  registrant's  board of  directors  (or persons
               performing the equivalent functions):

               a.   All significant  deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
                    design or  operation  of  internal  control  over  financial
                    reporting  which are reasonably  likely to adversely  affect
                    the registrant's ability to record,  process,  summarize and
                    report financial information; and

               b.   Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
                    or  other  employees  who  have a  significant  role  in the
                    registrant's internal control over financial reporting.



Date: May 7, 2004                   By: /s/ W. Moorhead Vermilye
                                       -----------------------------------------
                                       W. Moorhead Vermilye
                                       President and Chief Executive Officer