Poor crawfish harvest affects Mardi Gras celebrations
2/6/2024 12:00:00 AM
CATEGORIES:
Agriculture
Plants & Wildlife
Tourism & Recreation
AFFECTED AREAS:
Jefferson County, AL
Birmingham, AL
Louisiana
Lafourche Parish, LA
Raceland, LA
Start Date: 2/5/2024
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Lafourche Parish restaurants were beginning to get crawfish in, and prices were $6 to $7 per pound or more, which was higher than customers were used to paying for the mudbugs after the heat and drought of last summer. Recent rain will improve availability as the crawfish season wears on, but prices should remain high over the next several weeks. Cold temperatures have affected spawning with fewer juvenile crawfish around, which points toward a smaller crop. Despite the high prices, restaurants routinely sold out of the item.
Lafourche Gazette (Raceland, La.), Feb 6, 2024
The poor crawfish harvest in Louisiana after drought and heat in 2023 means a shortage of crawfish for Mardi Gras. One tavern always celebrates Fat Tuesday (Feb. 13 this year) with a crawfish boil, but will have to switch to a low country boil with shrimp this year.
WBRC-TV Fox 6 Birmingham (Ala.), Feb 5, 2024
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