Drought takes devastating toll on Louisiana’s crawfish industry [Video]

Lafayette, Louisiana — Cracking and peeling is serious business in the South this time of year because it’s crawfish season.

But the crustation that looks like a tiny lobster and tastes like a salty combination of shrimp and crab has been hard to find this year because of a devastating drought. The shortage has meant crawfish is pricier.

Cajun Table is one of the few restaurants in the heart of Creole country that has supply.

“Very, very slow start,” Sean Suire, owner of Cajun Table and a lifelong crawfish farmer, told CBS News of the crawfish season. “I’ve never seen the drastic decrease in crawfish like I’ve seen this year.” 

Harvesting his own fields is the only reason Suire has crawfish, but not nearly enough. He learned from his father on 350 acres of crawfish farmland.

“What we’re bringing in now is about seven to eight sacks, and we’re running 4,000 cages,” Suire said. “So what we normally would be bringing in …