May 12, 2026 — A federal seafood dispute that Eastern Shore seafood companies warned could devastate crab supply chains has now taken a new turn Monday, with federal regulators officially allowing imports from certain countries to continue.
As WBOC previously reported, local seafood companies including Salisbury-based Handy Seafood, Cebu Pacific LLC, and Byrd International joined a federal lawsuit late last year challenging new restrictions tied to the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. The companies argued the rules threatened jobs, production, and the nation’s crab supply because much of the pasteurized crab meat sold in the United States comes from Southeast Asia.