Are Crawfish Counted in the Ag Census in Louisiana?
Kathy Broussard
Louisiana State Statistician
USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service
Absolutely! Louisiana’s diverse agriculture does in fact include crawfish. While the Census of Agriculture doesn’t count every crawfish harvested, it does capture the value of sales from commercial producers.
In the 2017 Census of Agriculture, Louisiana crawfish producers reported nearly $59 million in sales, up 74 percent from 2012. Crawfish have been around Louisiana a long time - the first recorded commercial crawfish harvested occurred in 1880 and had a value of $2,140. Over the years, the industry has expanded. Currently, it is being fueled by a growing market, in part because folks know they are not just for bait!