At the beginning of the year, the 2019 Louisiana crawfish season had aficionado's of the cravable crustaceans licking their lips in anticipation of a bountiful harvest. So far that anticipation has become more of a disappointment as the promise of a bountiful harvest has yet to materialize.

Experts with the LSU AgCenter are suggesting two theories as to why the season has underperformed compared to expectations. The first theory has to do with Mother Nature. The crawfish, much like us, their human counterparts, don't like this on again off again cold weather, warm weather, then really cold, then really hot. The rollercoaster forecasts have appeared to have put the crawfish growing cycle into a bit of a spin.

The other theory is more biological. Experts say a large amount of the crawfish crop has been hit with white spot virus. The virus is exacerbated by the wild temperature swings we've chronicled earlier. By the way, that white spot virus only affects crustaceans. It is of no threat to humans or other species of fish.

So what can we expect for the final few weeks of the season? Most experts say with a lot of confidence, I don't know. Chances are most fishermen will be pulling a mixed bag of crawfish from the ponds. Some days the harvest will be full of big and beautiful mudbugs, the next day there might be smaller to medium sized crawfish in the trap.

The bottom line is simply this, if you're waiting for that big price drop that we normally see this time of year, don't hold your breath. We should see some relief in prices but don't expect any bargain basement deals to pop up, at least on a statewide scale.

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