Who sets the prices for crawfish in Louisiana? It’s a true mystery

Crawfish, culture and cash. It’s crawfish season in Louisiana, and normally the supply of the crustacean would be plentiful, but not this year. Heat and drought are being blamed for an abnormal crawfish season where crawfish farmers/producers are seeing fewer “mudbugs”, and consumers are seeing outrageous prices for the crawfish that are making it to market. Prices for live and boiled crawfish can vary from week to week, but who actually sets these prices which an entire state keeps an eye on? The answer is a true mystery. I traveled to a crawfish farm in Church Point, La to learn more about the pricing system and the challenges within the crawfish industry.