Methods of emptying traps vary within the industry. Producers with ponds smaller than a few acres do not use motorized boats because of the added expense.
If ponds are shallow, traps can be emptied by harvesters who walk along while pulling a small boat. One person can empty about 400 traps per day.
Other trappers use a small, flat-bottom boat propelled with a push pole or paddle. This method is no more efficient than walking. In larger ponds, a motor boat adapted for shallow water is the most efficient harvesting equipment.
One unit used widely in the crawfish industry is the Go-Devil. Go-Devils have 8- to 12-HP, air- cooled engines and long shafts with weedless propellers. The boats have flat bottoms, are made from aluminum, and are typically 14 to 16 feet long and 4 to 6 feet wide.
These boats travel down the lanes of traps while fishermen empty and re-bait each trap from one side of the boat without stopping at each trap.
The boat usually requires two persons, one to empty and re-bait the traps and a second to steer. As many as 300 traps per hour can be emptied.
Many crawfish trappers prefer to use a rig designed specifically for harvesting crawfish. This boat uses a 12- to 20-HP, air-cooled engine that operates a hydraulic pump and motor to propel a metal wheel that extends beyond the boat.
Metal cleats are welded to the wheel, which is mounted either to the front to pull the boat forward, or to the rear to push the boat in shallow water.
The hydraulic steering can be operated with foot pedals, leaving the driver’s hands free to empty and rebait traps. One person can handle about 150 to 200 traps per hour and up to 300 traps per hour can be emptied and baited with two persons.
Boats are equipped with sacking tables to consolidate harvested crawfish. Trap contents are emptied onto the sacking table, which usually has one to four loose mesh “vegetable” sacks temporarily attached. Each sack can hold 35 to 45 pounds of crawfish. Bait residu
e and other debris remain on the table to be discarded, while crawfish drop into the hanging sacks. More producers are using in-boat graders to cull less than market-size crawfish at the pond. Larger crawfish remain on the grader and are sacked. Smaller crawfish are usually returned to the pond.
Future developments in crawfish harvesting:
Present methods for harvesting crawfish are labor intensive and relatively inefficient. Harvesting gear and techniques need to be refined. For example, if existing traps were modified or new trap designs developed so that fewer marketable crawfish escape, the trapper could use fewer traps and harvest on fewer days to lower costs.
Developing low cost formulated baits that are effective in cold and cool water also would reduce harvesting costs.
Devices for active harvesting without traps and baits have been investigated, and although some of these devices have shown promise they have not yet proved to be economical or free of technical problems. Active harvesting with nets or trawls would likely require significant changes in cultivation practices.
Authors:
Robert P. Romaire , W. Ray McClain and C. Greg Lutz
