Not only did last week's Arctic blast close local schools for a couple of days and add driving nightmares to so many in the Arklatex, but there could be another significant loss from the sub-freezing temperatures.

In an interview with the Louisiana Radio Network, Dr. Greg Lutz with the LSU Ag-Center says last week's Arctic blast could cause a slight delay to this year's crawfish season.

Lutz says that when temps get that low, mudbugs get lethargic and simply don't move.

"They're gonna keep sitting there until that water warms up." "That has an impact on our harvest because we can't catch those crawfish if they don't cooperate by walking into the traps."

There was a glimmer of hope from Lutz though.  He believes that we'll have crawfish for Mardi Gras, but not as many and we'll probably have to pay more for them.  However, those that we get will probably be a good size.
"We had some good growing conditions to this point," said Lutz. "So I don't think we'll see a big reduction in the average size right now."
Lutz is also hoping we'll see sunny skies and some milder temperatures for several days straight in hopes that water in the crawfish ponds will warm causing the crawfish to spring back in to action and avoid major losses.

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