Today is the first day of Lent season for the Catholic community and that means steering clear of red meat and consuming more seafood. Owner of Harlon’s LA Fish in Kenner Harlon Pearce says the 2024 crawfish season is not going to be great in terms of supply and prices due to last years drought.
“We’re not going to see the normal pricing. Crawfish are going to be on the upper end of the price or high. I think we will get our crawfish as we get later in the year. How long it will last I’m not sure. It’s not going to be a great year for crawfish but we will have crawfish.”
Many Louisiana crawfish farmers produced zero crawfish, while others did not have quite an average production due to the drought.
For Catholics, tonight’s dinner is probably going to consist of some kind of seafood on a plate, and Pearce says there does not seem to be a limited supply of seafood choices such as crabs, oysters, and shrimp. He says fish is also a great choice during Lent.
“The finfish has been really good. The species that we can catch commercially the black drum, the sheephead, those are really coming in larger numbers right now and really nice product. Really pretty fish. On the freshwater side, the wild Louisiana catfish can’t be beat.”
With more than 13 hundred crawfish farmers, Louisiana leads the nation in crawfish production, supplying 100 to 120 million pounds per year, according to Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries.
When it comes to crawfish, Pearce says give it a couple of months, there are promising signs of more crawfish that may be ready between March and May. But if you’re planning an Easter crawfish boil…
“I’d go ahead and get ready to and get bought now. Get somebody ready to get it for you. Cause Easter week is always a tough time to get crawfish. I don’t care how many pounds we catch. That’s the normal heavy usage week.”
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