Crawfish season going well, exports remains strong

Crawfish season going well, exports remains strong
The Bahamian spiny lobster, also known as crawfish. (PHOTO: BAHAMAS.GOV.BS)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The 2021/2022 crawfish season has been going very well, according to Bahamas Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA) president Adrian Laroda, who noted that despite the pandemic, exports have remained strong. 

“The season has been going very well and I ahem attributed it to a few factors,” Laroda told Eyewitness News. 

He said: “Hurricane Dorain has caused more crawfish to move from the ocean to the shallows and so we are seeing more larger crawfish than in the previous three to four years. Also the harvest is good. The RBDF has been performing well in terms of patrols and so that has helped tremendously. Also, the retail price that hovers around $19 per pound is good.”

“Exports surprisingly have not slowed due to the stable demand by the foreign market which is very good. We expect to export the usual 4.5 million pounds.”

He added: “With the Lobster Improvement Project, while we could export more it is recommended to keep the cap the export number of 4.5million pounds.”

The crawfish season runs from August 1 to March 31 2022.

Agriculture and Marine Resources Minister Clay Sweeting noted earlier this month that this nation must look to diversify its fisheries products.

“There is a vast number of opportunities under the sea. The Ministry will work diligently with our fishermen to create new opportunities and open new markets,” said Sweeting.