Maryland's senators say $10 million in crab disaster relief has been approved for watermen and others affected by the decline of the fishery.

U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski and Benjamin L. Cardin issued a statement Thursday saying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has approved the state's relief plan and made the funds available.

NOAA announced in November that Maryland and Virginia would each be eligible for $10 million because of the failure of the Chesapeake Bay's soft shell and peeler blue crab fishery.

The two states asked in May for a disaster declaration for the blue crab fishery. In September, NOAA issued a declaration for the soft-shell fishery, saying its harvest value had declined by 41 percent from the late 1990s.