Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season and seafood becomes a popular dish.  Chairman of the Gulf Seafood Institute Harlon Pearce believes there should be plenty available.  Pearce says high water levels and weather conditions have resulted in a bountiful crawfish harvest.

“The pricing is dropping a lot quicker than normal and so I’d expect that after Mardi Gras you are going to see some really plentiful crawfish products and some great pricing as we go into the season,” said Pearce.

Pearce says oysters went through a rough phase with the high Mississippi river levels, but now there are more than enough to go around and prices are leveling out much better than what they were.

“This is a good time.  They are fat, nice, salty, good stuff, so oysters are great.  Really good stuff right now,” said Pearce.

Pearce says wild-caught Louisiana catfish are gaining in popularity among restaurants.

“There’s nothing wrong with farm-raised catfish but of course you know our Louisiana wild products just got so much better flavor, just like our shrimp does versus the farm-raised shrimp,” said Pearce.

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