Harvest

Ritz Crawfish Company cultivates and harvests crawfish exclusively on nutrient-rich rice fields of southern Louisiana. The prime crawfish season runs from December through May when the crawfish emerge from the ground when previously harvested rice fields are flooded.  Baited traps are placed in knee deep water and fished 4-5 days a week or as the catch determines.

The crawfish feed on the vegetation of the old rice stubble and breed 2-3 times a year with a female having 400-900 eggs each birth cycle.  Once ponds are established the natural reproductive rate of crawfish allow a sustainable annual harvest without having to artificially feed or restock the ponds.

This natural occurring ecosystem is unlike any other fishery in the world and is free from chemicals, pesticides and artificial food.  A well-managed pond typically produces 1,200-1,500 pounds of crawfish per acre.  When the ponds are drained in May for the replanting of rice the exoskeletons that have been shed during the various molting cycles act as a natural fertilizer.