It's been 19 years since Louisiana, stung by a $1 billion court judgment, last opened its water bottoms for new oyster leases. But the state is now lifting its moratorium, raising hopes among oyster harvesters who have endured a series of setbacks from Mother Nature as well as the BP oil disaster.
Read MoreThe temperatures are dropping just as crawfish season is about to heat up. The current forecast of freezing temperatures in the coming days isn't the best for the crawfish industry. Crawfish farmer David Savoy tells KATC the water in his ponds is below 50 degrees.
Read MoreParades, revelry, masks, and food — it’s Mardi Gras, and everyone gets to be a New Orleanian for a day… even in SoCal! And once again, The Other Door bar is going all out for the occasion. This SoCal bar is flying in hundreds of pounds of fresh Louisiana seafood for their special to-go version of a Mardi Gras crawfish boil.
Read MoreTo increase the number of oysters spawning on public water bottoms, Louisiana plans to forbid harvesting on four artificial reefs east of the Mississippi River in St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes.
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.
The Wildlife and Fisheries Commission passed a Notice of Intent (NOI) to add four proposed recreational oyster broodstock reefs to Louisiana Administrative Code (LAC) 76:VII.537, which restricts all oyster harvest on reefs listed under that rule.
Read MoreThe Direct Enhancement of Snapper Conservation and the Economy through Novel Devices Act of 2020 (DESCEND Act of 2020) was signed into law on January 13, 2021. The new Act will require commercial and recreational vessels (including for-hire) to have a venting tool or descending device rigged and ready to use when fishing for reef fish species in Gulf of Mexico Federal waters.
Read MoreThe 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.
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