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.
This year, though, Broussard says his crawfish are selling for $10 per pound.In a normal year, Broussard's company is shipping millions of crawfish. But now his massive plant is at a virtual standstill with delivery trucks idle. A refrigerated room, usually packed with thousands of sacks of crawfish, is down to a few dozen. 'It's going to hurt our local economy unconditionally,' Brossard said.