Crawfish Season May Be Tasty for Everyone!

Crawfish season may be good for farmers and consumers. After two lean years, Mother Nature seems to have smiled on the industry with a wet summer and a relatively warm winter. Even with the torrential rains of early January, processors say they are able to buy more for less earlier in the season.

Rickey Phillips, owner of Phillips Seafood in Iberville Parish, tells the Associated Press he is buying between 150 and 200 sacks a day right now compared to 30 to 40 sacks this time a year ago.  And, he says, the prices are lower. He’s paying his farmers and fishermen $1.50-1.75 per pound, as compared to $3.5-4 a year ago. Prices typically drop as the season goes on, but most producers say it’s still too early to predict how prices will fluctuate over the course of the year.

Consumers may not see price fluctuations at the tables in their favorite eating establishments. However, they will see that those delectable delicacies are easier to come by if Mother Nature continues to be kind.

Highest demand days for crawfish are typically Super Bowl Sunday, Easter and Mother’s Day.