Louisiana crawfish season off to strongest start in years

NEW ORLEANS (WWL-TV) — The 2020 crawfish season is off to a strong start.

Prices are already cheaper for boiled crawfish right now than they were last year. In just the first week of February, people are already finding decent prices at seafood sellers across the metro area. 

According to Crawfish App, live crawfish are selling for as low as $2.29 a pound and boiled crawfish can be found for $3.49 a pound. Our partners at The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate say, on average, prices are half what they were a year ago with 2-3 times the total supply.

Seafood sellers say there’s more crawfish to go around this year. They suspect the supply is up because of the relatively mild winter so far, which has created good conditions for the crustaceans to hibernate less and grow more.

On Wednesday morning at Today’s Ketch in Chalmette, the average price for boiled crawfish was $5 per pound. This time last year, it was $7 per pound.

Sellers say that the sizes are still a little inconsistent but they should be better in the next week or so.

While a cold snap could change everything, it’s shaping up to the best crawfish season in eight years. 

We’re weeks away from what’s traditionally the peak of crawfish season, which happens around Lent.