Crawfish Forecast Bleak Beyond 2024 Season
Lafayette, LA (KPEL News) - Louisiana crawfish farmers are struggling to fill their sacks. As a matter of fact, I have friends who tell me they are harvesting about a half a sack in fields that, in normal years, yield 6 to 7 sacks a day. Unfortunately, the bleak news extends beyond 2024.
The brutal heat and lack of rain throughout the summer didn't only leave the earth cracked, it also killed off the remnants of a rice harvest that crawfish feed on. When farmers started flooding the fields to start their season, the ecosystem they rely on was essentially decimated.
That's not new news. We've heard and even written about it on this website.
Now, the LSU Ag Center says the problem could last through next year's season as well.
It takes crawfish to make crawfish. Crawfish Specialist Mark Shirley explains:
The farmers are not going to have that source of stock to produce crawfish for next year.
The limited availability of crawfish this year will need to be used to restock, and that causes a ripple effect that effectively would delay the proliferation and growth of crawfish in 2025.
"Crawfish" is a season for Louisiana natives, and farmers call Easter weekend their "Super Bowl." They are doing all they can to ensure that folks who want to host the traditional crawfish boil with friends and family on Good Friday or the following weekend have all they need to enjoy.
They may be able to fill those orders, but customers will pay handsomely for the privilege. Prices as of mid-January are $10 a pound for live crawfish.
We actually did a deep-dive into the highest prices in past year. You can read that below.
The average person may wonder why the price is so high. Don't farmers just take their boat and go empty the traps?
No. They need to maintain their pumps and wells to flood and keep the fields flooded, they must buy fuel, bait is expensive, and most pay workers to help harvest all their fields.
And, let's not forget, the price is determined largely by supply and demand.
For perspective, a sack of live crawfish holds 30 to 35 pounds. At $8 to $10 per pound, you'd fork out $240 to $350 per sack today. In a normal harvest year, the price of a sack runs $60 to $100.
If you enjoy crawfish etouffee, expect the price of tail meat to be even steeper.
Shirley does reference the Atchafalaya Basin harvest could be a salvation, but even that option seems uncertain. Water levels are two to three feet below normal. Mother Nature will determine whether the basin is ready for the late spring harvest there because the snow melt to our north is the most effective way to restore levels that are conducive to harvesting.
