VIDALIA &8212; It has not been a good year for the crawfish industry in Louisiana.

Near drought conditions last summer and fall set the stage for a smaller than normal catch this season.

And while hurricanes Katrina and Rita all but erased the yield in southeast Louisiana, they are what have made it possible for the producers farther north to avoid a disastrous 2006.

&8220;I&8217;m probably going to produce 30 to 35 percent of what I did last year,&8221; Barry Richardson said. &8220;But I&8217;m getting twice as much as last year.&8221;

With nearly 650 acres of ponds in production, Richardson is one of the largest crawfish farmers in Concordia Parish.

Richardson said he has seen small numbers of crawfish in his ponds but that the numbers are starting to pick up a little bit later in the season.

During the summer months, crawfish burrow into the mud in search of a safe, moist place to wait the fall egg-laying season.

The lack of moisture forced the crawfish to dig deeper and deeper, making their return trip that much more laborious.

&8220;The dirt plug gets longer and then they can&8217;t get that far up so they die,&8221; Richardson said.

Richardson knew he was in for a skimpy season when he did his first dip-net testing in early November and found very low numbers of juveniles.

The fishing season for crawfish farmers in central Louisiana normally begins in early January, but Richardson decided to hold off in order to allow winter rains to possibly help free any trapped but still living mudbugs a chance to be freed and lay eggs.

&8220;With the cost of diesel and it being so dry, it&8217;s very expensive to pump (ponds) up to fishing levels,&8221; he said. &8220;In February, the numbers were there, but size is also a factor.&8221;

Instead of fishing then, he waited longer to allow the crawfish to grow.

Some ponds he has left entirely out of production for the year to give them a head start on next year.

With a full-time job, Richardson can afford to take the hit this year.

&8220;All my years I&8217;ve been successful, but crawfish isn&8217;t my complete livelihood, Tabasco is,&8221; he said.

An employee for 24 years, the Avery Island native &8212; and current resident &8212; serves as a night shift manager three nights a week.

That gives him time to make the drive up to Monterey to tend to his ponds, some of which he owns and some he works in partnership with Angelina Farms.

Richardson said crawfish farming gives him something to do with his family and isn&8217;t so bad for duck hunting season, either.

&8220;That&8217;s probably the main reason I do it,&8221; he said.

If the experts are right, Richardson&8217;s love of hunting will be tested again in 2007.

LSU AgCenter said in an outlook statement on its Web site that the future for mudbug farmers is murky.

&8220;The season&8217;s end will probably see a smaller-than-normal supply of stocking crawfish. This shortage &8230; will result in fewer ponds being stocked for next season.&8221;