(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced it will release 35,000 additional visas through the H-2B Nonimmigrant Temporary Worker Program, which will help protect Maryland's $355 million seafood industry and supply chain.
Governor Larry Hogan urged federal administration officials on January 21 to release the visas ahead of the start of blue crab harvest season on April 1.
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Earlier this week, Maryland's Best Seafood — a marketing program within the Maryland Department of Agriculture — released a survey measuring the economic impact of the crab industry in the state.
Hogan's administration says this is the third straight year the governor has been successful in pushing federal officials to release additional visas through the H-2B program.
(Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)