Crawfish lovers are hopeful for a plentiful season because of the mild winter we'd been having, but one expert says this freeze we're experiencing now could put a dent in this year's crawfish harvest.
"It's slowed down for now," LSU Ag Center crawfish agent Todd Fontenot said. "When it's really cold like this, they're not really moving."
Fontenot told WWL's Tommy Tucker that the freeze has forced the crustaceans back underground.
"Crawfish have slowed down," Fontenot said. "They're going to be staying low in the mud, just kind of being real calm and laying there and not really interested in moving or attracted to the bait."
Fontenot says once the cold snap ends, crawfish farmers will resume their harvest, but he warns that this freeze could lead to smaller crawfish later in the season.
"If they're not eating, then, naturally, they're not growing," Fontenot said. "So it does slow down their growth somewhat."
According to Todd Fontenot, the Arctic blast is a double whammy for farmers who are already feeling the effects of a dry fall.
"Some buyers and farmers tell me they're a couple of weeks behind where they were last year at this time."
Still, Fontenot doesn't expect the freeze will impact the harvest too much.
"The normal peak is still going to be in late February into March and April when the water temperatures get up into the 60s and 70s. That's really when the peak of production is going to be," Fontenot said. "As the temperatures warm back up, they're going to get back moving and foraging and moving again, and then they'll be attracted to the bait. It's just going to take a little time."
