Organic radishes are pretty in a salad, but perhaps one of the purest expressions of the “farm to table” concept is the humble Louisiana crawfish boil. Baited traps are set in ponds within flooded fields and then retrieved the next morning brimming with the nocturnal creatures. Somewhere between a few hours and a few days later, the live mudbugs are made available to backyard boilers or cooked to spicy perfection in area restaurants. Whether you boil them yourself or order them off a menu, it’s a feast worth waiting months for.

The crawfish industry annually contributes more than $300 million to Louisiana’s economy. A research study at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is proving it could also help control invasive carp in Louisiana rivers.

During the Lenten season, Fridays mark a surge in seafood demand. Crawfish prices are crucial for those planning weekend boils.

Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser granted an official pardon to Tony the Crawfish on Tuesday. The event marks the first official day of crawfish season in Louisiana.

A broad coalition of U.S. aquaculture, fishing, and seafood industry organizations, including Louisiana Farm Bureau’s Crawfish Advisory Committee, have submitted a letter to congressional leaders urging swift passage of the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act (H.R. 2715 / S. 3213).

Brandi Shelley, a registered intensive care unit nurse at Ochsner West Bank hospital, has a passion for the bayou. She can't stay away from the water. 

Shelley owns Shelley Farms, an oyster farm in Bayou Hertesa in Port Sulphur in Plaquemines Parish. She also part-owner of Terry Shelley's Shucking House with her brother and father. The oyster farm and distribution company services Louisiana, Texas and Kentucky.

Now that the Mardi Gras beads are mostly cleared from the utility lines and we are firmly in the Lenten season, Louisiana has shifted into a different kind of celebration—one built around backyard boils, spicy steam rising from giant pots, and tables covered in newspaper and crawfish shells.

A Louisiana state lawmaker has introduced legislation that would allow the state government to seize and destroy seafood that violates state law in the latest effort to crack down on imported seafood – particularly shrimp.

The end of the Mardi Gras season means the beginning of Lent. For Catholics, it’s a season of restraint and fasting, which includes not eating any meat on Fridays, but for some New Orleans residents, that’s not necessarily a tough ask.

In the tiny town of Richard in Louisiana, Savoy Farms has 1,600 acres dedicated to raising crawfish. When we visited the farm near the beginning of this year’s crawfish season, farm owner David Savoy said his crop had a way to go.

A slimy pest is plaguing Louisiana - causing utter destruction for crawfish and rice harvesters.

The apple snail, native to South America, is an invasive species that carries a parasite called rat lungworm, which can be fatal to humans and devastating to crops.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) issued a disaster declaration for the crawfish industry Wednesday, according to a press release.

I had my first platter of boiled crawfish for the 2026 season last week, and it was well worth the wait. 

Crawfish Time on Ridge Road in Lafayette was bustling the week before Mardi Gras, with crowds in the restaurant and drive-thru focused on one thing: putting away 3 or 5 pounds of succulent, tender crawfish and fixings.