Crawfish season doesn't seem to have quite taken off yet, as we approach Easter. And a mysterious malady that affects mudbug has apparently been on the rise.
LSU crawfish expert Dr. Greg Lutz says a problem known as white spot virus has become more prevalent. He says it can wipe out all the adult crawfish in a pond, but leave younger generations alone.
"The young crawfish appear just fine, they just scoot around and act like normal," he said. The problem is, those crawfish don't stay in the traps/
Lutz says the disease doesn't pose an existential threat, but it can be expensive, because a crawfish farmer has spent a lot of money by the time harvest time rolls around, only to have lost the harvestable critters.
Lutz says the disease hasn't been researched much, but it needs more attention.
"We don't have a good handle on just how many acres are affected, usually," he explained.
Lutz says a lot of growers don't report when they've lost a pond to the disease, and just move on to the next crop.