Crawfish Farmers Still Dealing with Flooding

Some areas are drying out, but others are still battling the water, especially in Northern Vermilion Parish.

Crawfish farmers are scrambling to save their harvest and for many, it's a waiting game until they can get back to their fields and some farmers are facing a total loss.

"Everything is underwater and I believe most of the crawfish will leave with the water and there will be a shortage in our area," said Donald Benoit, owner of D & D Seafood in Gueydan.

He farms about 15 hundred acres of crawfish ponds, but most of that 1,000 acres is flooded.
Benoit is losing out on roughly six to eight hundred sacs of crawfish a day. Not only is he losing his harvest, but he's also agreed to pay his employees even though they're not working. Benoit says despite the loss, he'll make it.

"I won't have to work as hard and maybe not eat as much. We'll be fine."

While some crawfish farmers are having trouble harvesting this season, it's not necessarily translating for restaurants. Depending on who you ask, they have an abundance of mud bugs.