Many, if not most, of the seafood processors in Louisiana depend on foreign guest workers to help operate their businesses and meet demand for their products.
Louisiana’s crab fishery, oyster fishery, shrimp fishery – and even its alligator farms – rely on those who will travel to and work in the United States by way of an H-2B visa. Each visa is a one-time pass to fill a seasonal job vacancy that cannot be filled by an American worker
A variety of Louisiana industries brought in more than 3,000 H-2B workers in 2011.
Gary Bauer, owner of Pontchartrain Blue Crab, says his business wouldn’t survive without these workers. That’s because, according to Bauer, it’s hard finding local people willing to do this kind of demanding work, such as standing for hours picking crabmeat or peeling shrimp.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Louisiana Seafood News