Supply of This Seafood Is "Ugly" Right Now, Experts Say
In recent months, shortages in almost every grocery store aisle have made headlines, threatening other products. One of these items may
be difficult to get at the store shortly in the meat and fish aisle, but one industry analyst says the season is not looking good.
Jack Brooks, president of the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association, told WTOP News that crab catches this year will be "ugly."
Labor constraints will contribute to the low supply, but reports claim the quantity of crabs in the Chesapeake Bay off Maryland and Virginia is also declining.
Brooks tells the news station that Eastern Shore seafood workers need an H-2B temporary work visa to work from April to November. After
almost 140,000 petitions, only one crab-picking operation received some visas. Brooks called it a "visa treadmill" and said it's hard to locate
crab processors for a few months. Foreign labor are usually accessible, but previous President Donald Trump halted work permits in 2020.
Maryland had a similar issue last year. The New York Times reported that one restaurant raised crab cakes by $5 due to skyrocketing crab prices.
The water Journal reported 282 million crabs in the water at the start of the 2021 season, the lowest number since 2007. "We're comfortable with where we are currently