Metals in Crawfish - Aquaculture and the Environment: A Shared Destiny - page 205

easy enter the baited trap but cannot exit through the openings. The traps are secured in
place on the bottom of the pond by rod that runs through the trap into the mud. The bait
used in the trap is often the single highest expense in crawfish production. Bait cost depends
upon the type, amount used, number of traps and trapping frequency. Various types of
small fish, butchered larger fish or formulated baits are the most common baits used. Early
in the season the fish baits are most commonly used because the strong scent of the fish is
better at attracting crawfish in the cooler waters of that time of year. As the water warms,
less expensive formulated baits are used. The formulated baits are densely packed cylinders
(approximately 3 cm in diameter and 7 cm long) of cereal grains, grain by-products,
favoring and a binder.
Louisiana Crawfish Production Manual / Courtesy of Joel Richert
8.3 Trapping machinery and strategies
The most common method of collecting the harvest from the traps is by use of a specially
designed paddle boat driven by a gasoline engine. The aluminum boats have flat bottoms
and are typically 4.5 to 6 meters long and 1.5 to 2 meters wide. The 12 to 24 horsepower air-
cooled engine drives a hydraulic pump to propel a metals cleated wheel attached to the
boat. The boat is equipped with a sacking table on which the contents of each trap are
dumped. Two or more sacks (capacity approximately 18 kg. each) temporarily attached to
the table hold the crawfish as they are harvested. Many tables are designed to cull smaller
crawfish and to remove bait and other debris from the catch. After dumping a trap, the
operator re-baits the trap and returns it to the pond. The boat is in continuous motion and
does not stop unless a problem occurs. A single operator can service about 150 to 200 traps
per hour. Traps are placed in rows with 15 to 20 meters between rows and individual traps.
The traps are emptied and baited usually three to four days per week. If prices and demand
are high, traps may be run more often.