Saw this on FB. Sounds like a rough season ahead. Can anyone confirm? This is a place in LA but wondering what the local market here in BCS will be like. I was thinking about going to get some crawfish soon but not at these prices!

I CAN confirm, good friends with two different Crawfish restaurants owners in Houston metro. This will likely be putting most of the smaller places out of business sadly. One guy luckily is set up as good as can be with his crawfish out of la, but even he is probably still 4-6 weeks out from getting the volume he needs, the other, is in a mad scramble like most just trying to find anything to sell. And the price per pound is sky high, never even heard numbers like they are currently.

smstork1007 said:

---

And the price per pound is sky high, never even heard numbers like they are currently.

---

What $8 a pound?

The owner of L&L Seafood in Houston pretty much echo'd that to me the other day. He said right now he would have to sell them for $9/lb for LIVE crawfish, and they would be very small. It's a bummer, I cook alot of crawfish every season.

You'd be lucky to find live for $9, no clue what a restaurant would be charging right now, as their suppliers are quoting them 9ish delivered, and my guys aren't even bothering due to size and lack of quantity.

TXAG 05 said:

---

It's not even close to crawfish season. Let's see what happens. If they are selling live sacks for $9/lb in March/April, then yes that will be a big problem

---

Pantera said:

---

this is America ... we'll just put the crawfish on our cards and carry on like we do for everything, even if it's $9 a pound in March

---

Yep.....anybody that buys $42/lb wagyu beef steaks ought not fret over $9 mudbugs

TXAG 05 said:

---

It's not even close to crawfish season. Let's see what happens. If they are selling live sacks for $9/lb in March/April, then yes that will be a big problem

---

This is my thought. The earliest I've bought in dfw was late January and those were so tiny it was more of a tease than a happy ending.

Season doesn't really start until mid February.

Still sounds horrible for the year though. The people who care already know if they'll have product to sell.

Folks, what you are hearing is true - crawfish season is starting out very slow, largely due to the severe drought experienced last summer/fall. On top of the drought the extreme cold weather can have impact temporarily, but populations usually recover from the cold eventually. Drought during the dry season can impact broodstock survival and reproduction, thus the main reason for short supply to this point. Whether there will be a reasonable amount of late season crawfish will depend on how many crawfish survive to this point and reproduce successfully, but also whether crawfish farmers will be able to keep fields flooded and fished later in the season. Many may give up and drain their fields to plant other crops if going gets too tough. So, with farm raised crawfish this year going forward, there are a lot of factors in play, but from a biological standpoint the worst will be over once the hard cold weather is out of here - but much of the damage may have already occurred.

I watched a documentary on lobsters. They have fluctuated from high prices to very low prices. What was amazing is that all along (at least the Southeast coast) the coast in the 1750s to 1850s (a guess) lobster were so abundant you could scoop them and it was considered peasant food and mostly fed to slaves. Later it became luxury food.

It was the "poor man's food" and prison riots erupted because they didn't want lobsters more than three times a month. Mistakenly they didn't realize once lobsters were killed an enzyme was released that made it quickly rot and mushy.

It's been a lot easier for me to find lobster tails on sale than snow crab clusters lately which was never the case before. My kids love it all including crawfish so we are hoping that the pricing normalizes later in the season. If not we will probably only stick to one small crawfish boil with close friends or just for us as a family.

Anywhere that relies on pond/farm crawfish is going to be very expensive this year. Buy wild caught, they taste better anyway.

I have some good friends that have family in the LA crawfish business and they're confirming that it's going to be a rough season with sky high prices. Drought has wrecked havoc

And this was before the hard freezes here lately.

magnolia tiger said:

---

Anywhere that relies on pond/farm crawfish is going to be very expensive this year. Buy wild caught, they taste better anyway.

---

Where do you buy wild caught crawfish?

I typically will pick up a couple sacks each time I go back to visit my parents in LA. There was a guy hauling them back to Houston from the Atchafalaya Basin. I've bought from him a few times before with good results. I'll try and find the link to his FB page and post it. They are generally slightly smaller than pond, but with a richer fat and fuller flavor.

Tailgate88 said:

---

magnolia tiger said:

---

Anywhere that relies on pond/farm crawfish is going to be very expensive this year. Buy wild caught, they taste better anyway.

---

Where do you buy wild caught crawfish?

---

Wild caught crawfish are not available now either. That supply is unpredictable and has been diminishing in quantity for many years now due to less favorable environmental conditions in the Atchafalaya Basin. It is often very late in the season when that fishery comes in if it materializes. I think you will see some increase in supply from farm ponds later in the season if farmers keep water on their fields, but don't expect a normal year, and with lower overall yields and pent up demand, prices will likely remain much higher than normal.

Haven't had a problem getting all you can eat in 45 years, what part of the basin you from baw? My buddies are putting out test traps right now, fishing the lower atchafalaya. This was a test run just before freeze

You bet there are some guys setting out test traps at $9-13 per pound prices. And will catch a few, just like pond fishermen, but there is no volume coming out of the basin or ponds, otherwise you would not see those kinds of prices. Crawfish are a highly perishable product and prices reflect a strong supply/demand scenario.

Your right about the volume, the basin will be producing by late February to early March just in time for Lent/Good Friday just like it always has. Might be $4.99 a pound but damn sure no one in South LA is paying $8 per lb for live.

They're getting one (1) sack per 100 acres. Been 40 years since it's been this bad. Just sucks

This is where I typically buy my Crawfish from in NB. Really good guys. I'll have to make a point to start eating there for the food to hopefully help keep them going

https://www.mysanantonio.com/food/article/lazy-j-cajun-crawfish-season-18621061.php

We had the same thought. Great spot and my kids love crab. Gotta keep locals going anyway you can.

https://www.livingstonparishnews.com/breaking_news/mark-shirley-of-lsu-ag-sends-out-warning-regarding-tough-crawfish-season/article_86825ae8-b7de-11ee-a105-17cfcfc89da8.html

Cromagnum said:

---

Meh. Got a good couple more months of oyster season, then I'm grabbing shrimp and crab. Mudbugs are overrated.

---

Agree, best thing about them is the price and being able to chill with buddies, cracking them, and drinking beer.

sounds like I'll skip a year of crawfish. Not that big a deal

I have friends out Patterson way. We used to meet his dad in Winnie area and hand off a few sacks to take back for a boil party. Get a little bit of everything, bugs, shrimp, oysters, crab, boudin and the drive was fun as we had stops along the way. It turned into a business for my buddy and he pretty much paid his way through college bringing seafood to folks. We are not as close anymore since I had moved out of state and life evolves. But low and behold last year I rode with a buddy to get bugs and meet his supplier in Port Arthur and I walk over to a truck selling shrimp and crab and there he is! It is a side business that many never give up because it is lucrative and not many get licensed for. There are shady folks and there are good folks. So sometimes folks get burned on bad product. But there are some that always have what you need when you call them and they will have it this year too. May even only charge you 8-9 dollars a pound when it might be going for 11-12 dollars. They can because they do it on the side and it's all done without a license. They will get you the biggest they can also because it makes them the most money per pound. You pay more money for the part of the bug you cannot eat. I always get medium since the tails are about the same size as large. Might be a shrimp year for me, some fishing and then bring back fresh shrimp. I just hope the brood stock doesn't disappear because of this and hurt next season.

Real estate transactions getting crazy out there.

Here in Houston...