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2020 crawfish season off to a great start

4 years 1 month 3 weeks ago Friday, January 31 2020 Jan 31, 2020 January 31, 2020 10:58 PM January 31, 2020 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE – So far, it’s been a fast start to the 2020 crawfish season, and it is shaping up to be one of the best in recent years.

It's the combination of two main factors that has those in the crawfish industry feeling optimistic about this year.

Mudbugs have been getting snatched up since earlier this month at crawfish farms across south Louisiana.

“This season kind of started out at a fast pace. The availability of crawfish is very plentiful,” owner of Pit-N-Peel Elvondae “Von” Raybon said.

With all the rain that south Louisiana has recently gotten, along with a mild winter season, that's translated to a great start for crawfish season.

“We're picking up very good quality crawfish, so that's always a plus when it comes to the price points, as well. Because most people want big, big, big, big, crawfish,” Raybon said.

Prices also appear to be down compared to last year at this time due to the early influx of wild-caught crawfish.

"We're seeing more crawfish out of the spillway and the basin areas not only just ponds right now,” Raybon said.

According to WBRZ’s crawfish price tracker, in early February of 2019, prices were near $6 per pound for boiled crawfish.

Right now at Pit-N-Peel on Government Street, they're going for $4.79 per pound.

As it usually goes, prices will go down as the season progresses. But the Lenten season will also play a small factor in the prices.

"You'll see those prices kind of elevate a little bit but it shouldn't be much,” Raybon said.

Folks in the crawfish industry are hoping that this early momentum will carry them through the spring.

"I think their numbers are just going to continue to increase,” Raybon said.

Starting next week, you can check crawfish prices all around the baton rouge area on WBRZ's crawfish price tracker on WBRZ.com and on the WBRZ app.

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