Home > Crops & Livestock > Aquaculture > Crawfish > Crawfish Production Manual [Image: crawfish manual] Commercial sales of crawfish in Louisiana date back to the late 1800s, and today's crawfish industry includes millions of pounds harvested from farms and natural habitats in the state. This publication covers a wide range of topics on crawfish production, including crawfish biology, pond design, forage management, stocking, water quality, harvesting, marketing and much more. Crawifsh News April 2012 (Vol 5, No 2) [Image: Crawifsh News April 2012] This newsletter covers stocking recommendations for crawfish, controlling white river crawfish in ponds, recommendations on when to stop trapping, and the estimated 2011 farm-raised and wild crawfish harvest in Louisiana. Crawfish News March 2012 (Vol 5, No 1) [Image: Crawfish News March 2012 (Vol 5, No 1)] This newsletter provides a explanation to the slow start of the 2011-2012 crawfish season, proper methods for handling crawfish post-harvest, managing low oxygen in crawfish ponds, and general harvest recommendations. Projected Costs and Returns for Crawfish Production in Louisiana, 2012 [Image: Projected Costs and Returns for Crawfish Production in Louisiana, 2012] This report presents estimates of projected costs of producing crawfish in Louisiana for the 2012 season.  more articles... Crawfish News Summer 2011 (Vol 4, No 4) [Image: Crawfish News Summer 2011 (Vol 4, No 4)] This newsletter discusses armyworm control in late summer planted crawfish forage, results of research on the potential effects of summer drought and excessive summer rainfall on crawifsh survival and reproduction prior to fall flood-up, irrigation of crawfish forage crops with slightly salty water, and LSU AgCenter crawfish news. Crawfish Environmental Best Management Practices [Image: crawfish bmp] This BMP manual is a guide for the selection, implementation and management of practices that will help growers conserve soil and protect water and air resources. (PDF format only) Louisiana Commercial Crawfish Harvesters Report [Image: Louisiana Commercial Crawfish Harvesters Survey Report] This report is a survey of Louisiana wild commercial crawfish license holders conducted in 2010 to determine their preferences and perspectivesof actual and hypothetical regulations and management practices of the wild commercial crawfish fishery in Louisiana. Crawfish Culture: A Louisiana Aquaculture Success Story [Image: Crawfish Culture: A Louisiana Aquaculture Success Story] The crawfish aquaculture industry, located primarily in Louisiana, has remained viable and resilient despite some considerable constraints. Success can be attributed to several factors. Economic Impact of Crawfish on Rice in a Rice/Crawfish Rotation [Image: Rice/Crawfish Rotation] This report evaluates the economic impact of crawfish as a rotational crop on the rice enterprise, indentifying specific costs imposed on the rice enterprise unique to crawfish production and presenting relevant economic principles in the assignment of production costs to alternative farm enterprises from a farm accounting perspective. Other Management Considerations [Image: Chapter 9. Other Management Considerations] This chapter (Chapter 9) from the Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual discusses other management considerations in commercial crawfish farming, including pond flood-up, population management, supplemental feeding, managing ponds for larger crawfish, diseases, predators, nuisance wildlife, control methods and deveoping your business. Crawfish Production: Production Systems and Forages [Image: Crawfish Production Systems and Forages] Crawfish aquaculture relies on control of pond hydrology to simulate optimal wet and dry conditions occurring in natural riverine and wetland habitats. Crawfish grow and mature during the wet or flooded cycle and survive the dry periods by digging burrows. Crawfish Production: Production Economics, Pond Construction and Water Supply [Image: Crawfish Production] The species of crawfish important in the southeastern United States are the red swamp crawfish (Procambarus clarkii) and the white river crawfish (Procambarus zonangulus). Culture methods are relatively simple compared to those for other aquatic animals. Crawfish culture can fit well with farm management plans because it uses marginal lands, existing labor and farm equipment during off-peak farming periods. Crawfish Production: Harvesting [Image: Publication cover] Freshwater crawfish of the genus Procambarus are a valuable aquaculture commodity in the southern United States, with annual production of 30 to 50 million pounds and farm-gatevalues of $25 to 50 million. Unlike fishes, crawfish are not harvested by seining. Instead, crawfish are harvested with a passive system that uses baited traps. Crawfish Lesson Plan K-8th, High School Lab Teachers' resource manual, based on grade level expectations (GLE), using crawfish as the subject model to provide teaching materials for the subject areas of English, Math, Science and Social Studies from grades kindergarden through 8th grade, and high school science laboratory excercises. Click for more information...