Photo: ALDodson / iStock / Getty Images
Drought, heat and freezing temperatures have combined to make the outlook for crawfish season look pretty dismal. That's three strikes - and it is possible, you're OUT! Higher crawfish prices and limited availability await.
It's the time of the year when folks in Houston and other parts of Texas love to partake in crawfish boils or feasting on them at their favorite local restaurants and cafes. But limited to no availability and MUCH higher prices is what consumers are likely to find when searching for their favorite "mud bugs".
Laney King, co-founder of The Crawfish App says that supplies are late this year - arriving in March instead of January, and there may be a little bit of relief on prices in the last week, or two. Even with some prices moderating very recently, prices are still twice what they were a year ago. According to King, the App shows prices are currently averaging about $6.99 per pound boiled and about $150 per sack of live crawfish (30-35 pounds per sack) in the Houston area.
Todd Sink of Texas A&M says that a combination of drought, heat, and then freezing weather combined to decimate crawfish production last year and into this year. Louisiana is the largest producer with approximately 300,000 acres in production, where Texas is a distant second with about 9,000 acres - mostly along I-10 between East Houston and Beaumont. Loss of agricultural land and urban sprawl are additional threats to crawfish production in southeast Texas.
Sink did observe that there a several "niche" growers in Texas that are working to produce crawfish in areas that are closer to demand centers. So, for example, one new producer in Seguin will be working to serve the San Antonio area. Another in the Tyler area is targeting the Dallas Ft. Worth market. A third is trying to establish operations in the College Station area to serve that market
Aquaculture, Fisheries, and Pond Management | Texas A&M AgriLife (tamu.edu)