By March and April, when it's time to 

 harvest, the crawfish are a marketable size 

 and sexually mature. 



Sound easy? 



It is, says Onley. 



But one word of caution about the 

 Cajun favorites: Watch the level of 

 dissolved oxygen in the ponds. Producers 

 should check their flooded ponds daily or 

 every other day to make sure there is 

 enough oxygen in the water to keep the 

 crawfish alive. If oxygen levels get low. 

 they should aerate the pond water. 



"There's really only three ways to kill 

 a crawfish," Gabel says. "You can poison 

 them with an accidental spillage of 

 pesticide, allow your dissolved oxygen to 

 get too low or let something eat them." 



At harvest, crawfish usually measure 3 

 1/2 to 4 inches in length. It takes 20 to 25 

 of the clawed creatures to make a pound. 



But Onley says he trapped some 

 crawfish in May that tipped the scales at a 

 quarter pound each. 



The production of crawfish per acre 

 of pond varies from producer to producer. 

 Gabel says. It depends on how intensively 

 the producer has managed his ponds. But 

 Gabel estimates the average production in 

 North Carolina at about 500 pounds per 

 acre. 



For their efforts, producers could 



expect $2 to $2.85 per pound this year, 

 Onley says. That dollar figure is almost 

 double what Louisianians get for their 

 swampy catch. 



Why the difference? 



North Carolina producers offer a 

 better product, Gabel says. There's no wild 

 catch; all Tar Heel crawfish are farm- 

 raised. 



And producers in this state purge 

 their crawfish before they put them on the 

 market. To purge, producers keep the 

 crawfish alive and wet so the crustaceans 

 will digest all of the food in their vein. 



A purged crawfish translates to less 

 cleaning before cooking for the consumer. 



And what do consumers think of 

 crawfish? 



"Ninety percent of the people who try 

 it like it," Gabel says. "But a lot of people 

 are afraid to try something different." 



The N.C. Crawfish Producers Associa- 

 tion is working hard to introduce the 

 Cajun favorites to Tar Heel diners. This 

 year, the association sponsored crawfish 

 boils at several locations across the state. 

 At the N.C. Farmers Market in Raleigh, the 

 association sold 1,100 pounds of crawfish 

 in about an hour. 



But in most parts of the state, the 

 crustaceans are still a rarity on restaurant 

 menus, in seafood markets or along 



What does a crawfish taste like? 



Crawfish producer Dr. Clancy 

 Ballinger of Trenton Aquaculture says their 

 taste is most like shrimp. 



Aubrey Onley Jr.. president of the N.C. 

 Crawfish Producers Association, says their 

 taste is a cross between shrimp and lobster. 



"They have a real rich flavor, " Onley 



says. 



But Joyce Taylor, Sea Grant's seafood 

 education specialist, says, "A crawfish tastes 

 like a crawfish. " 



When it comes to eating, Ballinger 

 prefer the crustaceans cooked the Louisi- 

 ana way: boiled in spices. But Onley says 

 the way to his heart is crawfish etoufee. 



grocery store seafood counters. 



"People have got to tell restaurants 

 they want to see them on the menu." 

 Gabel says. "And they've got to ask for 

 them at the seafood market. You have to 

 create demand." 



Meanwhile, if you get a cravin' for the 

 Cajun crustaceans, you can contact Gabel 

 or the Crawfish Association (telephone 

 numbers below). They'll send you a 

 brochure that will tell you how you can 

 get next-day UPS delivery of live Tar Heel 

 crawfish. 



What does the future hold for these 

 Cajun imports? 



Gabel and Onley say a better image, 

 more producers, more crawfish and the 

 possibility of research providing an 

 extended harvest season. % 



For more information about 

 growing crawfish, contact Steve Gabel 

 at the N.C. Cooperative Extension 

 Service office in Edenton. His number 

 is 919/482-8431. 



For more information about buying 

 crawfish, contact Aubrey Onley Jr. with 

 the N.C. Crawfish Producers Associa- 

 tion at 919/426-9980. Or write N.C. 

 Crawfish Producers Association, P.O. 

 Box 1030, Edenton. NC 27982. 



How do you increase the value of 

 a crawfish? 



Allow it to shed its shell. 



Buyers shell out $10 to $12 a pound 

 for crawfish in their softened state. 



Crawfish, like blue crabs, must shed 

 their shells to grow. For a short time after 

 they shuck their old duds, crawfish are 

 entirely soft and can be eaten whole. 



How do you find one of these cushy 

 crustaceans? 



When you harvest crawfish, you look 

 for the signs of an impending molt and 

 place these creatures in separate trays. 

 When they do take it all off you remove 

 them from the tray and freeze them. 



COASTWATCH 9 



