ST. MARY PARISH — Louisiana’s seafood and crawfish industries are facing challenges this season as processing plants struggle to secure enough seasonal workers. At St. Mary Seafood, workers sort through crabs and other seafood headed to market, part of a process owner Daniel Edgar says depends heavily on having enough hands to keep operations moving. “Here in America, we are in a labor crisis, and each year it gets worse,” Edgar said.
Many processors across the state rely on temporary workers through the federal H-2B visa program. However, Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain told lawmakers during a House committee meeting Tuesday that demand for those visas filled up quickly this season, leaving some processing plants without the workers they normally count on.
Federal law caps the program at 66,000 workers each year, and once those spots are filled, employers often have to wait months before additional workers can be approved. “Why is there a cap? Why do I have to pay so much money, just to get a guy? He wants to come to work!” Edgar said, highlighting the challenges tied to both the availability and cost of bringing in temporary workers.
Edgar noted that even with decades of family support helping to run the business, labor shortages remain a reality many operations face, especially during busy seasons like crawfish. “They are still waiting on labor to start fishing their ponds, they have raised crawfish, can’t find people to run the traps,” he said.
Edgar emphasized the importance of immigrant workers in maintaining his operation and the broader industry. “Immigrant people are needed, it’s very important to have them here,” he said. Despite having family members involved, he added, “Here in the Edgar family, I'm so fortunate, I’ve got kids and grandkids, and they like what we do, I am so fortunate to have family to help me, I still don’t have enough labor.”
St. Mary Seafood has operated for about 40 years, and Edgar says diversifying the seafood they process helps keep the business running year-round. Still, crawfish season remains a major part of Louisiana’s seafood economy, and shortages of seasonal workers are creating challenges for processors and fishermen across the state.
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