LSN

ABBEVILLE -- Over the last two days the weather, which has begun to warm up, is great news for those who love crawfish.

Warm weather means warm water in crawfish ponds. Warm water means crawfish are going to come out of their burrows to eat. When they eat, they will grow larger.

For the last month, South Louisiana residents have been eating crawfish. The size of the mud bug has been hit and miss.

At the start of the season, crawfish were a good size to eat. However, weeks into the season, crawfish began to become smaller.

The reason is because the larger crawfish were left over from a year ago. Now, the smaller crawfish are this year’s crop and have not become adults because of the recent cold weather.

Mark Shirley, of the LSU Ag Center, said crawfish will grow in the next few weeks due to the hotter temperatures.

“Catches should increase,” said Shirley at the weekly Kiwanis meeting. “The peak production is March, April and May. Everyone wants to eat them early.”

Shirley predicts this year’s crawfish season will be a normal year.

Last year 15,000 acres were crawfished in the parish. The harvest brings in an estimated nine pounds and valued over $13 million.