BALTIMORE – The Maryland Board of Public Works has granted $375,000 to a state seafood marketing campaign to help promote its labor-short crab industry.

The Baltimore Sun quotes Department of Agriculture spokesman Jason Schellhardt as saying the industry specifically request the funding. Schellhardt says the department hopes the extra funding will help mitigate some of the losses due to the seasonal worker shortage.

Eastern Shore crab houses are without more than a third of their usual workforce after many failed to secure visas for their seasonal migrant workers. Visas for seasonal workers in non-agriculture jobs were awarded this year by lottery for the first time due to high demands from multiple industries. Another lottery awarded an additional 15,000 visas this month, but many crab houses missed out again.

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