Some Louisiana crab fishermen and buyers are concerned the state’s 30-day ban on blue crab fishing that began Feb. 20 will harm their business, especially during Lent.
Don Authement, a crab trap manufacturer and owner of Kajun Crab Trap & Wire in Bourg, tells The Courier that since the ban began the price for the big crabs—called No. 1s—has increased from about $2.50 to $4.50 in Louisiana.
“This could have only helped if they would’ve closed the whole Gulf Coast,” he says. “You don’t go to Texas and catch crabs and then come to Louisiana and sell them for twice the price. That’s why (crab fisherman) are mad.”
Louisiana fisheries experts, however, say the temporary closure, a first for the state, is necessary to make sure blue crab populations remain sustainable.
A Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries assessment conducted last year estimated that in 2015 the state had a blue crab population of about 14.3 million pounds—far below the benchmark of 17.1 million pounds, an indication the population is being “overfished.”
Jeff Marx, a biologist and program manager with the agency, says the low number required the department to take action, and the ban comes during what is historically a down time in the season. The interruption, he says, should be minimal. Marine experts also say the ban will give mature female crabs time to spawn and immature female crabs time to grow.
But Carla Ghere, owner of Carla Ghere’s crab shack in Houma, notes the crab ban is occurring during Lent, her busiest time of the year.
“People just want the seafood,” she says. “Everywhere I go, they ask, ‘Where’s your crabs, you got some crabs?’ Even at the parades. No, I ain’t got no crabs.”
