Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers

Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Juan Antonio harvests crawfish traps in a crawfish pond in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

CROWLEY, Louisiana (AP) — Spring is peak crawfish season in Louisiana, an industry worth about $300 million.

However, the industry is struggling this year due to a shortage of seasonal foreign workers, and some are blaming President Donald Trump’s administration for what they say has been a failure to authorize enough guest workers in time.

Large-scale crawfish producers use guest workers, many from Mexico and Central America, to shell and freeze the freshwater catch that is often pulled from swampy rice fields — physically demanding tasks that American workers are generally unwilling to do.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Juan Antonio displays a crawfish harvested in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Juan Antonio harvests crawfish traps in a crawfish pond in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Juan Antonio harvests crawfish traps in a crawfish pond in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Juan Antonio harvests crawfish traps in a crawfish pond in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Alan Lawson enters the Bocage Crawfish processing facility in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Alan Lawson walks through a room that normally has 110 workers in the Bocage Crawfish processing facility in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
A crawfish boat harvests a crawfish pond in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephen Smith)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Juan Antonio harvests crawfish traps in a crawfish pond in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Juan Antonio harvests crawfish traps in a crawfish pond in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Colin Lawson walks between his family’s crawfish ponds in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
A worker peels crawfish in the Bocage Crawfish processing facility in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Photos shows the crawfish processing in Louisiana, an industry hit by a shortage of foreign workers | iNFOnews.ca
Workers walk between buildings at the Bocage Crawfish processing facility in Crowley, La., Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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The Associated Press

Gerald Herbert And Stephen Smith

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