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Blue crab. (Photo: NOAA)
Maryland to grant USD 375,000 to promote blue crab industry
UNITED STATES
Friday, June 22, 2018, 22:30 (GMT + 9)
Maryland administration is to grant the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s seafood marketing program USD 375,000 intended to assist with marketing blue crabs.
The announcement was made by the state’s Governor Larry Hogan, who explained that many of the crab houses on the Eastern Shore rely on seasonal workers and have been forced to close their doors without them after federal cuts to the H-2B visa program.
“We remain hopeful that this issue will be resolved at the federal level, but in the meantime, we are doing all we can at the state level to support this iconic industry and the men and women who depend on it for their livelihood,” the governor pointed out.
The Hogan administration, along with Congressman Andy Harris, has been urging the federal government to restore the availability of H-2B visas for Maryland’s seafood processors.
On April 23, 2018, Governor Hogan sent a letter to US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Department of Labor Secretary Alex Acosta urging this action, and the governor has continued to push for federal labour policies that support Maryland’s signature seafood industry.
From the Governor’s Office it was informed that the Department of Agriculture will develop this marketing campaign, which will aim to encourage more sales and enhance market opportunities, in consultation with the Seafood Marketing Advisory Commission, the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industry Association, and other stakeholders.
The campaign will supplement the already well-established Maryland True Blue and Maryland’s Best Seafood campaigns.
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www.seafood.media
Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  NOAA/NMFSborrar
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