In 2023, a severe drought and heat in South Louisiana caused major setbacks for crawfish farmers, with many crawfish and hatchlings perishing. The 2024 season reflected this loss, with lower availability and higher prices. According to LSU AgCenter’s Todd Fontenot, the upcoming season looks more promising, as the crawfish are emerging to better conditions.
Read MoreThis time last year, the effects of south Louisiana's extended summer drought spelled bad news for area crawfish farmers.
It costs a lot of money to pump water into dry fields, and many crawfish and their hatchlings didn't make it through the abnormally hot and dry conditions of 2023. At the start of the 2024 crawfish season, these poor conditions were reflected in the price and availability of one of the region's most anticipated products.
Read MoreA new investigation focused on three of the world’s largest producers of shrimp released on Monday claims that as big Western supermarkets make windfall profits, their aggressive pursuit of ever-lower wholesale prices is causing misery for people at the bottom end of the supply chain.
The regional analysis of the industry in Vietnam, Indonesia and India, which provide about half the shrimp in the world’s top four markets—the United States, European Union, United Kingdom and Japan—is based on research done by an alliance of NGOs.
Read MoreIn Louisiana, the changing seasons bring a unique agricultural rhythm where rice and crawfish coexist.
Rice farmer Marty Frey at Four Oaks farm says it's a year-round process between growing and harvesting the rice, then catching the crawfish.
Read MoreThe Seafood Processing Demonstration Lab is inviting people involved in seafood production to attend an open house at the facility on Oct. 22.
The lab is located at the LSU AgCenter Iberia Research Station, and the event will start at 10 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. Lunch and product sampling will be provided. The address is 603 LSU Bridge Road in Jeanerette
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter continues to be a leading resource in crawfish data. Many of you know, LSU and their data sources have been key in all funding opportunities and communications with USDA on any assistance programs we have been able to secure over the past few years. As recently as the ELAP excessive heat calculations of 2023, LSU AgCenter agents and faculty were the leading resource for information on our niche “farm raised fish.” In an effort to continually improve those figures, we are supporting their effort to update key information that is a general resource for the industry and allows their scientists and economists to provide quality anonymous information back to the industry when needed.
Read MoreThe invasive apple snail is popping up all over south Louisiana, causing problems for crawfish and their producers.
“We’ve had a number of crawfish ponds in the past three years that have had to be drained very early in the season because they can’t be fished profitably,” LSU Department of Entomology Associate Professor Blake Wilson said.
Read MoreRockefeller Wildlife Refuge’s annual controlled harvest is underway this week.
Four hunters will be tasked to hunt 1,000 gators in seven days.
Because of the harvest, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will close the refuge until noon each day. After noon, the public will be allowed to enter the refuge and utilize recreational areas until official sunset.
Read MoreThe Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) after operating in New Orleans for ten years, has expanded its oyster shell recycling program to Baton Rouge. This initiative aims to combat coastal erosion by using recycled oyster shells to rebuild and strengthen Louisiana’s fragile coastlines. Spokesperson James Karst says oyster shells are a critical component in creating new oyster reefs, which act as natural barriers against storm surges and help restore marine habitats.
Read MoreA well-known Mississippi Gulf Coast seafood wholesaler with deep ties to Louisiana restaurants has pleaded guilty to a decades-long scheme of mislabeling imported seafood as locally sourced premium varieties. Quality Poultry and Seafood Inc. (QPS), the largest seafood distributor on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and two of its managers admitted to the fraudulent activity in a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Read MoreAn unsolicited proposal from Hecate Energy Gulf Wind for two commercial leases for wind energy development off the coast of Texas and/or Louisiana has raised significant new concerns for the U.S. shrimp industry.
Read MoreThe air was already steamy at 8 a.m. on an August morning, the sidewalk radiating heat waves as a crowd filtered into St. Joseph Cathedral in downtown Baton Rouge. Hundreds filed into the church, adorned in veils and athleisure wear, white robes and tennis shoes.
They were among thousands of Catholics who converged on the Mississippi River Aug. 14 and 15 for the Fête-Dieu du Mississippi. The two-day boat procession traveled down the river from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.
Read MoreImports. The greatest competition for local Delcambre shrimpers.
“The shrimping industry is at its all-time low right now, and it's horrible right now," said shrimper Cherie Boudreaux, who has owned more than 20 boats. “As a teenager, my ex-husband and I used to walk the docks of Delcambre, and we always said we were gonna get a shrimp boat one day."
Read MoreThe Louisiana Oyster Task Force is set to meet Monday, August 19 at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Crab Task Force is set to meet Tuesday, August 20 at the Terrebonne Parish Government Tower.
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