Excessive Heat, Drought Pose Threat to Gulf South 2024 Crawfish Harvest
Keith Lusher 11.02.23
With crawfish season only a few months away for the Gulf South, there seems to be some cause for alarm as producers are dealing with a 3-headed monster when it comes to crawfish production.
One problem is something that hasn’t been seen in over a decade. The ground is so dry that the underground burrow where the crawfish spend the summer has been cracked open because of the shrinking soil surface. This allows air and heat to get to the crawfish which usually can find refuge underground where it is moist and cool.
The second factor that is taking a toll on the crawfish harvest is the increase in salinity levels in water sources that producers depend on to flood their ponds. According to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and US Geological Survey, every water level gauge located along a 450-mile stretch from Jackson, MS, to the Ohio River is at or below the low-water threshold. This has caused salt water from the Gulf Of Mexico to move upriver as far as New Orleans. Other saltwater bodies of water are also feeding into what is normally considered freshwater tributaries which farmers use to flood their fields. Water samples were taken by local crawfish farmers in Vermillion Parish which is home to numerous crawfish fields. The samples showed sodium levels ranging from 1,780 parts per million, or ppm, to 3,100 ppm, which is considered high for farming crawfish.
The third thing that is hammering crawfish harvests is the rice and other forages that have died. These crops are crucial to the crawfish’s food supply as the freshwater crustacean feeds on it over the winter.
Crawfish on average were sold at 2.49 a pound last spring in Louisiana, but this year with the prices for labor, irrigation, and equipment such as boats and traps costing more than ever. Seafood markets are projecting those prices to double if the drought continues.
Todd Badeaux owns and operates a local crawfish farm in Breaux Bridge, La. He said he’s never seen conditions like the ones he’s seeing right now. “It’s just bad on all fronts. First off, we’re dealing with inflation and everything costs more. Then you add to it the dry weather since June. Add to it a record-setting heat wave this past summer and it’s shaping up to be a really rough year for crawfish, he said.
For now, we can only look to the skies for help as a rainy winter could turn things around. Badeaux remains optimistic. “Things always seem to work out. I’ve been down this road before with the crops and we always manage. We’ll get through it,” he said.
