La. scientist hopes to make crawfish boils part of football tailgating with different species

Louisiana scientist sees future in shrimp crawfish

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana State University biologist hopes his work will bring crawfish boils to football tailgate parties within a few years.

Aquaculture specialist Greg Lutz is studying whether shrimp crawfish could be raised profitably, like the currently farmed red swamp and white river crawfish.

Those species are a staple of spring get-togethers in Louisiana and other Southern states, but they are gone before the first kickoff.

Shrimp crawfish lay their eggs about the time the current commercial varieties are harvested and would be full-sized in October and November.

Lutz says the biggest problem is how to keep them alive through the winter. Unlike the currently farmed crawfish, they don’t burrow into mud.

Online:

Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association: www.crawfishfarmer.com/

LSU AgCenter info sheet: tinyurl.com/35ltmc6