05/08/2026
Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Mardi Gras is over, and now it's Lent--which in Louisiana means Crawfish Season! (Who says Louisiana doesn't have seasons?) Louisiana crawfish farmers will supply more than 150 million pounds of crawfish which brings an estimated $300 million to the state economy. Some producers are trying to recover from the 2024 drought, but early indications for 2026 are that it will be a good season. Louisiana is by far the largest producer of crawfish in the United States. Commercial sale of crawfish in Louisiana began around the late 1800s, harvested from natural waters. The first record of a commercial crawfish harvest in the United States was from the Atchafalaya Basin. In the 1930’s, the practice of re-flooding rice fields after harvest became commonplace as a method to produce crawfish for harvest during the autumn, winter and early spring.
