Louisiana’s crawfish processing industry is facing a labor crunch after federal officials denied seasonal work visas that plants rely on to staff their operations, Louisiana Illuminator writes.
Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain told lawmakers some facilities that typically receive 100 to 135 guest workers have received none this year, leaving plants running far below capacity. Businesses applied for visas in November as they traditionally do but were told the requests should have been submitted in January, after the cap had already been met.
The shortage threatens to idle processing plants and disrupt a key part of Louisiana’s seafood supply chain. In some cases, processors may be forced to ship crawfish to Mexico to be peeled before being sent back to the U.S., a costly workaround used in past shortages.
State officials, including Gov. Jeff Landry and Louisiana’s congressional delegation, are pressing federal agencies for relief, but Strain says responses from Washington so far have offered little hope for the struggling industry.
Louisiana Illuminator has the full story.
Crawfish industry
