The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) is lifting the long-standing oyster lease moratorium, which has been in effect since 2002.
The moratorium, which halted LDWF’s practice of leasing state-owned water bottoms to private entities for oyster cultivation, was originally instituted by the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission at the request of the Department of Natural Resources and the Governor’s Office under former Governor Mike Foster.
Read MoreThe 2021 Atchafalaya Basin crawfish season is off to an earlier start, while progress is being shown in the pond season.
The storm surge from hurricanes prompted the crawfish to appear, so while crawfish in the Atchafalaya Spillway would appear in late February or early March, they were being caught in December, according to Sidney Michel, owner of D&B Seafood in Morgan City.
Read MoreTim Angelette of Seafood Outlet in Thibodaux says he has never seen crawfish prices this high.
The combination of the late hurricanes devastating the western part of the state – home to lots of crawfish farms – and a few days of temperatures in the 30s has the price of mudbugs locally anywhere from $4 to $4.50 a pound live and $6.50 to $8.50 a pound boiled.
Read MoreMitch Jurisich, a third-generation oysterman, dropped a long pair of oyster tongs into the Gulf of Mexico and lightly raked the water bottom.
When he brought up his catch — several oysters that he laid along the side of his boat — all but one were dead. The more resilient hooked mussels, typically found clustered along the area's oyster reefs, had suffered the same fate.
Read MoreConditions are good for the crawfish season that is about to kick into harvest season.
“It looks like conditions were all pretty good for what looks like a good crawfish season,” said Todd Fontenot, Evangeline Parish county agent.
Reports from farmers are coming in slow right now, he said.
Read MoreAs crawfish season rapidly approaches, this year, the mudbugs may be a bit harder to get from the farm to your table. Colder weather has caused the small crustaceans to stay in hiding for just a bit longer causing a short supply and a high demand.
Read MoreAt the peak of the 2020 crawfish season, Gov. John Bel Edwards had just issued a public health order closing all restaurants except for curbside takeout and delivery. The order caused restaurants to buy fewer crawfish—leading to an oversaturated crawfish market, a drop in prices and financial hurt to farmers.
Read MoreLouisiana's crawfish farmers are hoping for a close-to-normal year in 2021, but the industry still faces some headwinds from COVID-19 and 2020's heavy hurricane season. Last year, the state's crawfish industry found itself facing a severe lack of demand.
Read MoreFor Louisiana oysterman Tony Tesvich the last few years have been all about water, water, and more water. Too much, too little, poor quality, high salinity, low salinity, nitrogen, phosphates and hypoxia; over the past two years his oysters have been flooded with a host of water issues with the latest being the future plans of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CRPA).
Read MoreCrawfish farmers who rely on the Vermilion River to flood and drain their fields are only just now discovering the impact hurricanes Laura and Delta had on their crops. Philip Emanuel, who farms on about 45 acres in Breaux Bridge, stopped trapping last month after catching only enough crawfish to fill half a sack during his first run of the season.
Read MoreAt the peak of the 2020 crawfish season, Gov. John Bel Edwards had just issued a public health order closing all restaurants except for curbside takeout and delivery. The order caused restaurants to buy fewer crawfish — leading to an oversaturated crawfish market, a drop in prices and financial hurt to farmers.
Read MoreCrawfish season at Sammy’s on Highland Rd. is boiling up. The restaurant is excited to start the season after last year’s crawfish season was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Read MoreHow about some crawfish for a cold weekend in South Louisiana? Because of the high demand, some places are already boiling, just one week after New Year’s. And local restaurant workers are hopeful that this is a sign that we’re getting back to some sense of normalcy.
Read MoreYou can fish for rainbow trout starting Jan. 21 at the Bayou Country Sports Park in Houma. That's when the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will stock the park's ponds with the fish, part of of a continuing effort to provide more accessible fishing locations for residents.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reminds fisherman of the Jan. 15 deadline to apply for the Seafood Trade Relief Program (STRP), which provides support for fishermen impacted by retaliatory tariffs from foreign governments. For more information on the program, including guidance on how to apply, visit farmers.gov/seafood or call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer assistance.
Read More
