"The catches have been so minimal that in most areas they've quit fishing," Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said.
Strain told WWL's Tommy Tucker that crawfish farmers by and large have no product to sell, but it's not for a lack of trying.
"Farmers that normally catch 30, 40, or 50 sacks (of crawfish) end up with one or two sacks," Strain said. "By and large, many of them are not fishing right now. They did try, and they didn't catch anything."
Some crawfish farmers, Strain says, are picking up their traps so the crawfish population can regroup in time for next year.
"I've been talking to my farmers, and they may end up having to hold some crawfish back to reseed for next year," Strain said.
Related
Strain is trying to stay optimistic, but he concedes that this year's crawfish season could lead to small crustaceans and large prices.
"Hopefully, by the time we get closer to Easter, we'll have some crawfish," Strain said. "We've got to have some crawfish! You can't have Easter without crawfish!
"My main concern is that we simply don't know yet, but the predictions don't look good at this point as to having an abundance of crawfish."