"I see it every Sunday in church, where husbands are worrying themselves to death," he said. "Guys who don't normally worry, guys who normally say, 'Hey, it's going to be OK.'
"If the H2Bs don't pass, it's going to be a horrific toll. Our community as we know it - I mean, the whole legacy, the whole heritage of the bay - it's going to kill it."
The processors are placing their hopes on Congress approving an exemption for returning workers, who would not be counted against the cap. In 2007, more than 69,000 such workers were allowed to enter the country, in addition to the 66,000 under the cap. Mikulski's legislation would establish an exemption for five years.
In the House last year, a similar measure was blocked by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The 24-Democrat bloc opposes what members have called "piecemeal" efforts that they fear would blunt the impetus for comprehensive immigration reform.
The processors are looking to House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, a Southern Maryland Democrat, to referee the dispute.
"Because [Hoyer] controls the floor, and we really need influence like that to get this through," said Brooks, president of the Chesapeake Bay Seafood Industries Association. "And just do it for five years. And when they decide to take up comprehensive [immigration reform], and they want to take this up in the comprehensive, OK. But don't let all these people burn out here like this."
In a statement, Hoyer said the issue is "one of many challenges facing Congress this year and next as it grapples with a global financial crisis and economic downturn at home."
"House Democratic leaders are sensitive to the labor limitations that employers face under the current H2B cap," Hoyer said. "I have long recognized the need to adjust this cap and have supported legislation to do so."
Waterman Johnny Shockley runs two boats out of Hoopers Island and a store in Salisbury. He said that the loss of the crab houses would be "just the last link in the chain" that is the Maryland seafood business.
"This would not be a full-time industry anymore," Shockley said. "It would be a hobby. You could go look at crab pots in the same museums where you see the skipjacks."
online
See a photo gallery of watermen and crab pickers at baltimoresun.com
BY THE NUMBERS
66,000
Number of H2B seasonal work visas issued nationwide each year
376
Average number of H2B workers hired by Maryland crab processors each season
2.54
Economist's estimate of Maryland jobs lost for each H2B picker whose job is lost
2.2 million
Annual average, in pounds,
of processed crabmeat produced in Maryland
$17 million
Wholesale value of 2.2 million pounds of crab
Source: Economic analysis of Maryland crab processing industry, 2003-2007, by Douglas W. Lipton, resource economist, University of Maryland
