Size does not matter when it comes to eating crawfish

People in South Louisiana are not too picky about the size of their crawfish. They will eat small ones, middle size ones and large ones if they are lucky.
A state representative from Gonzales wants to change that by creating a size limit on crawfish.
Last week Rep. Eddie J. Lambert pre-filed a bill in the Louisiana Legislature that is meant to protect consumers from small crawfish.
House Bill 438 makes the minimum size for consumption to be 3 1/2 inches. The correct measurement is from the back of the tail to its mouth. The claw size does not matter.

In Cajun Country, a 3 1/2 inch crawfish is a good eaten crawfish. In Lambert’s bill, it says a fisherman can be fined up to $350 for first offense and imprisonment of up to 60 days. The second offense jumps to a $550 fine and up to 60 days in jail. Get caught selling the small mud bug again and you could go to jail for up to 90 days and be fined $750.
Vermilion Parish’s two state representatives do not like the bill and will do their best to kill it in committee.
Rep. Bob Hensgens said when he first heard about it, he thought it was an April Fools joke. But then he realized it was April 6.
“I have spoken to the author of the bill and informed him I intend to help kill the bill,” Rep. Hensgens said. “The state of Louisiana has no business in our crawfish ponds.”
Newly elected Blake Miguez is also not a fan of the new bill.
“I have strong concerns with the proposed bill. I am not for penalizing the craw-fisherman and passing legislation that will lead to a higher price per pound for my constituents to pay at their favorite boiling restaurant,” said Rep. Miguez. “It could also lead to a shorter crawfish season. And some people like to eat small crawfish. We have bigger problems to worry about in Baton Rouge.”
D&T Crawfish owner Don Benoit said the passing of the bill would affect distributors, farmers and consumers. The average price today for a sack of smaller-sized crawfish is around $40.
Benoit said the smaller the crawfish, the cheaper it is. He added a 3 1/2 inch long crawfish is a decent size crawfish to eat.
Mark Shirley, an aquaculture specialist for the LSU Ag Center, said if a buyer wants smaller crawfish he should be able to purchase them.
Harvesting larger crawfish would not help the crawfish industry like it does the fishing industry, Shirley added.