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Crawfish prices have consumers feeling the pinch

Louisiana governor blames drought for higher crawfish pricing

Eating freshly boiled crawfish off a picnic table is an experience.

“People gather around the pot and exchange stories,” said Blake Groomer, the director of Groomer’s Seafood. “They drink beer, and it’s kind of a slow-going process.”

He’s a pro at picking the meatiest ones.

“These guys right here — these are going to be the prime ones,” he said, holding a crawfish.

Groomer said being pinched by the Cajun crustacean is part of the business, and so is supply and demand.

A pound of crawfish typically costs about $5, but this season, it’s closer to $12.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?” asked KSAT reporter Daniela Ibarra.

“No, I haven’t,” responded Groomer. “I’ve been doing crawfish for about 12 years now. It’s never been this high.”

Groomer said the crawfish are harvested in Louisiana, bagged up, and driven to San Antonio overnight.

“To offset all that cost with bait and traps, they’re having to go higher on their pricing, which then trickles down to our level,” he said.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued a disaster declaration for the crawfish industry in early March, blaming drought conditions.

“Are you noticing people are buying less of it because the prices have gone up?” asked Ibarra.

“What’s crazy is no,” answered Groomer. “We’re still selling like usual, actually. It’s kind of interesting.”


About the Authors
Daniela Ibarra headshot

Daniela Ibarra joined the KSAT News team in July 2023. This isn’t her first time in the KSAT newsroom– the San Antonio native spent the summer of 2017 as an intern. Daniela is a proud Mean Green alum, earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of North Texas.

Sal Salazar headshot

Sal Salazar is a photojournalist at KSAT 12. Before coming to KSAT in 1998, he worked at the Fox affiliate in San Antonio. Sal started off his career back in 1995 for the ABC Affiliate in Lubbock and has covered many high-profile news events since. In his free time, he enjoys spending time at home, gaming and loves traveling with his wife.

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