We’re on the brink of crawfish season, but our mudbug bashes might all be interrupted this year thanks to the brutal summer we all experienced.
Because of the triple-degree temperatures and the drought that resulted, crawfish productions numbers are DOWN this year, which means Texas might be facing higher prices this year for our crawdads.
Louisiana produces the most crawfish out of any state in the nation, but the rice fields where they are harvested did not get an adequate amount of rainfall because of the drought, and the high temperatures over the summer also forced the crawfish to burrow deep into the ground to escape the heat with many of them unable to emerge afterwards.
Nikki Fitzgerald, a coastal and marine resource agent with Texas A&M, told Houston Public Media, “It could be a low year for crawfish. Louisiana naturally grows about 250,000 acres of crawfish a year and Texas only does about 20,000. Our (Texas) markets rely pretty heavily on Louisiana.”
Though most farmers don’t set out traps until the end of February, early signs indicate a low output of crawfish this year. "A few of the farmers that have put out traps are saying are hardly catching anything. The drought has obviously affected some of our Texas farmers," said Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald is hopeful the crawfish numbers will bounce back, though it just might occur later in the year. In the meantime, crawfish fans, especially in Texas, can expect to pay higher prices than normal this season.