After last year's disappointing crawfish season, suppliers expect to better this year

Crawfish season looking better this year than previous years

Besides the Houston Rodeo, crawfish season is another Houston mainstay this time of year after a disappointing season last year, FOX 26 Business Reporter Tom Zizka has some answers about what you can expect.

What we know:

HOUSTON - More than 1,600 Louisiana farmers produce tens of millions of pounds of crawfish, each season. Last year's crop was damaged by drought and heat, prompting high prices for the available supply. This year, plentiful rain and mild temperatures have helped produce a much-better crop. Winter freezes only slowed the growing cycle, but did not damage the cold-water crustaceans. 

Crawfish fans will still find smaller mudbugs, this time of year, as it's still early in the growing season. Suppliers expect mid-April to bring the best combination of size and price. The industry expects wholesale prices to range from $3-$6 per pound.

What they're saying:

"It's everything for us, to be honest with you. It gives us a massive bump in revenue, and over the years, our identity has been built around crawfish," says BB's Tex-Orleans founder Brooks Basler, who expects to sell a million and a half pounds of crawfish this season, "My gut's telling me, right now, we're still  about three weeks off from having every day consistently good crawfish."

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