Crawfish prices expected to drop soon as season escalates

WESTWEGO, La. (WVUE) - At Perino’s Boiling Pot, the kitchen has been serving more and more bright red, boiled crawfish for hungry customers. And as crawfish season picks up, the Westbank seafood spot is expecting demand to rise, as is the Westwego shrimp lot.

“I’ve come here for a sack of crawfish and big ‘ole shrimp. I love seafood,” customer Stanley Martin said.

Martin and many others flocked to the lot before the Monday lunch rush. Vendors say live crawfish are a bit harder to come by right now, after the recent cold snap spurred some of the early season yield. But they said customers just have to wait a little longer for the prices and sizes they prefer.

“They were up to $5.50 a pound, then they were $5 a pound, and now it’s $4.75 a pound,” said Susie Oubre of Ruth’s Seafood. “They’re coming back, and they’re getting bigger, too.”

While the price has been fluctuating since the start of the season, due to the cold weather and inflation, customers say they don’t mind it supporting local vendors and fishermen.

“Down here in New Orleans, we love seafood. So, no matter what, we are going to buy it,” customer Jermond Houston said. “The prices have been up and down, up and down. It’s reasonable.”

That’s one of the reasons why Bethany George set out to purchase 70 pounds of crawfish for a whopping $340 -- all for her husband’s birthday party.

“It was either do seafood for his birthday or do without and everyone is pouting,” George said. “Seafood is very important. That’s where we gather together.”

Vendors said prices could drop as early as next week. The best way to find the lowest prices is to call your local seafood spot ahead of time or search their prices online.

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