Commercial sales of crawfish in Louisiana date back to the late 1800s, and today's crawfish industry includes millions of pounds harvested from farms and natural habitats in the state. This publication covers a wide range of topics on crawfish production, including crawfish biology, pond design, forage management, stocking, water quality, harvesting, marketing and much more.

This newsletter provides recommendations on stocking crawfish and planting forages in preparation for the 2011-2012 crawfish farming season.

May 2008 Crawfish News. This newsletter provides information on forage planting, liming crawfish ponds, and stocking new, existing, and recently renovated ponds.

Farming crawfish requires pumping water. Pumping water costs money. Although there is really no way to get around these facts, we can take action to minimize pumping costs.

This newsletter covers stocking recommendations for crawfish, controlling white river crawfish in ponds, recommendations on when to stop trapping, and the estimated 2011 farm-raised and wild crawfish harvest in Louisiana.

This newsletter provides a explanation to the slow start of the 2011-2012 crawfish season, proper methods for handling crawfish post-harvest, managing low oxygen in crawfish ponds, and general harvest recommendations.

Virtually all crawfish sold by farmers and fishermen are alive. This market necessitates that crawfish remain alive until cooked, which may require several days or longer in some cases.

This newsletter discusses the potential impact of the 2009-2010 cold winter on crawfish production, general trapping and baiting recommendations, crawfish escape from traps and other species of crawfish found in crawfish ponds. It also introduces a new AgCenter crawfish blog and other recent publications of interest to the crawfish community and general public.

March 2008 Crawfish News. This newsletter covers information on springtime pond oxygen management, supplemental feeding, growth of crawfish, handling and care of crawfish, white spot syndrome virus update, and legal considerations in shipping crawfish.

This report presents estimates of projected costs of producing crawfish in Louisiana for the 2012 season.

This newsletter recaps the season through February, discusses springtime oxygen management, crawfish growth, supplemental feeding, proper handling of the catch after harvest, and problems with nuisance algae. A status report on the crawfish rice variety "Ecrevisse" is provided and a memorial commentary on contributions to the crawfish industry by Don Gooch, former director of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Crawfish Research Center.

This newsletter reviews spring trapping and harvesting recommendations, submitting crawfish samples for identification of white spot virus syndrome, how to identify sexually mature, non-growing crawfish, availability of a free crawfish production and marketing record keeping software, and an industry update on a federal Aquaculture Block Grant to assist aquaculture producers adversely affected by high feed costs.

This newsletter addresses oxygen management in crawfish ponds, white spot syndrome virus update, recommendations on trap density and new Louisiana tax laws of importance to crawfish producers.

January 2008 Crawfish News. This newsletter covers information on baits and baiting recommendations, commercial species of crawfish in Louisiana, algal scum problems in crawfish ponds and locations for February 2008 crawfish producer meetings.

This slide presentation presented to the Louisiana Seafood Industry Advisory Council reviews biological and environmental factors that influence and control production of larger, more valuable, crawfish by farmers.

This article discusses various aspects of marketing crawfish with emphasis on Louisiana. Topics covered include: seasonal and annual supply, influence of Chinese imports on the industry, pricing, product forms, including live and processed product, marketing influences, purging and cleaning, transporting and storing live crawfish, production strategies for identified markets, and regulations and permits.

This newsletter discusses considerations in early-season crawfish harvesting, baiting strategies, control of nusiance wildlife in crawfish ponds, and dates, times and locations of upcoming crawfish producers workshops.

Crawfish research and extension specialists in the LSU AgCenter often receive inquiries from producers regarding the need or benefit of liming ponds or fields used for crawfish production. The following article discusses calcium and water hardness requirements for crawfish, benefits and limitations of liming, and where to get your water and soil tested to determine if lime is required for your crawfish pond(s).

This document is Chapter 8 in the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual. The chapter discusses factors affecting crawfish catch and size of crawfish at harvest, trap types, baits, baiting strategies, trapping strategies and harvesting machinery.

This glossary was developed to provide a better understanding of many of the terms used in the crawfish production manual. This document is the Glossary in the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual.

This document is Chapter 6 in the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual. The chapter discusses factors to consider when stocking crawfish including species and size of crawfish, suggested months of stocking, handling crawfish broodstock, stocking rates, sex ratio and condition of broostock, and post-stocking recommendations.

The challenge farmers face this season is to produce a crawfish crop as inexpensively as possible. When to flood, how deep to flood and managing water quality must all be considered so as to pump as little as possible.

Over the last several years, crawfish farmers have been switching to a slightly different crawfish trap – one constructed of ¾-inch square mesh wire in lieu of those made from ¾-inch hexagonal (6-sided) mesh. The square mesh traps are more durable and produce larger catches.

Captured "red swamp crawfish" vary widely in color because of their diet and environmental conditions, but the most exotic colors occur because of mutations in the genes that are responsible for pigment formation.

This document is Chapter 2 in the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual. The chapter covers basic biology and life cycles of red swamp crawfish and white river crawfish, burrow ecology, population dynamics and population structure, molting, and nutrition and feeding habits of crawfish.

This newsletter addresses the November 10 crawfish referendum to renew the assessment on crawfish artificial bait and sacks (bags), trap spacing guidelines, dip net sampling of juvenile crawfish for population assessment, the importance of secondary juvenile crawfish recruitment to overall crawfish yield, and a frequently asked question on the relationship between trap mesh and size of crawfish harvested.

This article discusses the life history and biology of the Procambarid crawfishes, the red swamp crawfish and white river crawfish.

September 08 Crawfish News. This newsletter addresses fall flooding considerations, storm water management, pumping efficiency and energy cost, and relationship of temperature and crawfish growth.

This newsletter discusses managing water for fall flood-up, the importance of BOD on water quality and oxygen management in crawfish ponds, and crawfish industry news.

This study was designed to examine the biological and economic efficacy of relaying crawfish into a growing rice crop in an intercropping manner. (PDF format only)

This newsletter discusses armyworm control in late summer planted crawfish forage, results of research on the potential effects of summer drought and excessive summer rainfall on crawifsh survival and reproduction prior to fall flood-up, irrigation of crawfish forage crops with slightly salty water, and LSU AgCenter crawfish news.

This newsletter discusses control of armyworms in late planted crawfish forages, managing wild trash fish in crawfish ponds, the benefits of crawfish ponds as wetland habitat for waterbirds, managing excess water associated with tropical storms and hurricanes, and crawfish legislation passed in the 2010 legislative session.

This BMP manual is a guide for the selection, implementation and management of practices that will help growers conserve soil and protect water and air resources. (PDF format only)

This report is a survey of Louisiana wild commercial crawfish license holders conducted in 2010 to determine their preferences and perspectivesof actual and hypothetical regulations and management practices of the wild commercial crawfish fishery in Louisiana.

The crawfish aquaculture industry, located primarily in Louisiana, has remained viable and resilient despite some considerable constraints. Success can be attributed to several factors.

This is an Excel spreadsheet-based record keeping system that allows crawfish producers to track production, sales and expense data throughout the production year.

White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) has been confirmed in crawfish in a number of crawfish ponds in south Louisiana and in the Atchafalaya Basin. This is the first time this disease has been found in Louisiana crawfish. WSSV is a virus that only affects crustaceans. It does not affect people or other animals.

View the latest sampling results in a bar chart and table from 15 parishes.

This chapter (Chapter 9) from the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual discusses other management considerations in commercial crawfish farming, including pond flood-up, population management, supplemental feeding, managing ponds for larger crawfish, diseases, predators, nuisance wildlife, control methods and deveoping your business.

Crawfish aquaculture relies on control of pond hydrology to simulate optimal wet and dry conditions occurring in natural riverine and wetland habitats. Crawfish grow and mature during the wet or flooded cycle and survive the dry periods by digging burrows.

The species of crawfish important in the southeastern United States are the red swamp crawfish (Procambarus clarkii) and the white river crawfish (Procambarus zonangulus). Culture methods are relatively simple compared to those for other aquatic animals. Crawfish culture can fit well with farm management plans because it uses marginal lands, existing labor and farm equipment during off-peak farming periods.

White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) has been confirmed for the first time in Louisiana crawfish. Following are best management practices to use to minimize the impact of the virus. These BMPs have been developed by the LSU AgCenter.

This article provides basic nutritional information on crawfish and guidelines for handling and care of live crawfish and crawfish tail-meat products. Several crawfish recipes are included.

Crawfish are healthy food. They are an excellent source of high-quality protein; low in calories, fat and saturated fat and a good source of vitamins. (PDF Format Only)

Teachers' resource manual, based on grade level expectations (GLE), using crawfish as the subject model to provide teaching materials for the subject areas of English, Math, Science and Social Studies from grades kindergarden through 8th grade, and high school science laboratory excercises.

Crawfish aquaculture relies on control of pond hydrology to simulate optimal wet and dry conditions occurring in natural riverine and wet-land habitats. Crawfish grow and mature during the wet or flooded cycle and survive the dry periods by digging burrows.

Freshwater crawfish of the genus Procambarus are a valuable aquaculture commodity in the southern United States, with annual production of 30 to 50 million pounds and farm-gatevalues of $25 to 50 million. Unlike fishes, crawfish are not harvested by seining. Instead, crawfish are harvested with a passive system that uses baited traps.

This table provides industry statistics, including dock-side price per pound, for Louisiana farm-raised and wild crawfish. Source of statistics is the Louisiana Summary, Agriculture & Natural Resources, years 2000 through 2010.

This document presents estimated crawfish harvest production statistics in Louisiana from Aquaculture and the Wild Crop from 1978 through 2010. Information source: 1978 through 2010 Louisiana Summary: Agriculture and Natural Resources

This document is Chapter 5 in the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual. The chapter discusses forage selection and management recommendations for monocropping and rotational cropping systems, the benefits and limitations of cultivated and noncultivated forages, recommended planting dates and post-flood management of the forage crop.

This is Chapter 7 of the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual. The chapter discusses water supply and quantity, water quality parameters of greatest importance and practices that affect water quality including flooding date and forage type. Best management practices (BMPs) to minimize the impact of tailwater releases on the environment are also discussed. This work was supported in part by EPA Grant #C9-996102-08 through the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.

This document is Chapter 3 in the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual. The chapter discusses the differences between crawfish monocropping systems and crop rotational systems, including rice-crawfish-rice and rice-crawfish-fallow (or rice-crawfish-soybean) systems.

This document is Chapter 4 in the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual. The chapter discusses selecting an appropriate pond location, design and construction of crawfish ponds, and USDA-NRCS best management practices for crawfish pond construction.

July 2008. This newsletter has information on late-summer planting and management of crawfish forage crops, control measures for fall army worms, a brief overview on crawfish reproduction and an annoucement for an upcoming survey on crawfish production economics.

This report evaluates the economic impact of crawfish as a rotational crop on the rice enterprise, indentifying specific costs imposed on the rice enterprise unique to crawfish production and presenting relevant economic principles in the assignment of production costs to alternative farm enterprises from a farm accounting perspective.

A device used to blow air into a pond to create movement of the water.

This fact sheet provides information on chemical test kits and meters for measuring oxygen, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and a list of vendors where oxygen-measuring kits or meters can be purchased.

This article discusses 10 best management practices that have been identified to minimize the potential impact of crawfish pond effluents (tailwater) on the environment.

This article discusses recommendations for maximizing efficiency of water use in commercial crawfish aquaculture.

This 1987 five-page article, written by Jay V. Huner and James E. Barr and published by the Louisiana Sea Grant Program, provides basic biological information on crawfishes, including taxonomy, anatomy, basic physiology, ecology and maintaining crawfish in aquaria for classroom activities. The material is suitable for high school-level biology.

This newsletter covers oxygen demand in crawfish ponds, dip-net sampling of crawfish populations, an introduction to crawfish population dynamics, and trap density and spacing recommendations.

Limited food resources near the end of the crawfish production season resulted in lower reproduction. Moreover, short-term feeding with high protein/high energy feeds in forage depleted ponds before crawfish burrowing seemed to mitigate the food shortages and even increased the spawning rate over those crawfish from ponds rich in forage.

This article describes materials and techniques for the construction of pillow traps and pyramid traps used to harvest crawfish in Louisiana's commercial crawfish industry

Whether from aquaculture or the natural fishery, the supply of live crawfish is highly seasonal, with peak harvest occurring from March through June. Supply-and-demand relationships are reflected in price variations from year to year and from week to week during the crawfish harvest season. Because of restricted geographical areas of production, seasonal supply, unstable prices and limited consumer awareness, crawfish sales nationally have been limited but have increased in recent years.

Letter containing information managing water quality and the spacing of traps in the field.

Letter containing information on the affects of Hurricane Humberto on crawfish ponds and an announcement for the Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association annual membership meeting.

Existing ponds normally do not need to be restocked. New ponds require 50-60 pounds per acre of mature crawfish. Drain ponds 2-3 weeks after stocking to allow time for crawfish to burrow into the ground.

Topics covered include when to cease harvesting and when to drain ponds, planting crawfish forages, liming of crawfish ponds, the importance of record keeping and a brief review of crawfish burrow ecology.

Enjoy Louisiana crawfish for delicious taste and good nutrition. Crawfish are an excellent source of high-quality protein and are low in calories, fat and saturated fat. Information on types of crawfish, availability, cooking, freezing, nutrients and recipes included. (PDF Format Only)

(Distributed 09/05/08) Rain resulting from Hurricane Gustav across the crawfish-producing parishes of Louisiana may cause problems for crawfish producers, according to LSU AgCenter aquaculture specialists Greg Lutz and Mark Shirley.

Including seafood as part of an overall balanced diet can provide many health benefits. This publication includes tips on selecting, storing and using seafood. (PDF Format Only)