Des Allemands man grows monster crawfish

Monster Crawfish

A Des Allemands businessman has taken crawfish farming to a higher level, and this year it’s paying off. He’s growing giant crawfish the likes of which have never been grown locally.

Dr. Ray Matherne, owner of RJM Enterprises, which includes the Cypress Point development, says he’s harvesting crawfish that are between 10 and 11 inches long from his ponds along Hwy. 90 just west of Des Allemands.

Matherne says the crawfish began to double in size in January.

“These crawfish are the size of mini lobsters and it’s amazing to see just how big they are,” He said. “We are selling these crawfish right at $1.75 per pound.”

Matherne sells most of his prized crawfish  to restaurants in Metairie, but he does take orders locally as well.
While the site is paying off big time right now, it wasn’t always a breeding ground for crawfish. Matherne says the ponding area was originally a cattle field.

“It was converted to a crawfish pond in the late 70’s or early 80’s,” he said. “and was abandoned basically in the late 90’s.”

Matherne says that’s when he took over the property and began building his crawfish business.

His secret is that he first imported Bell River crawfish, which tend to grow bigger than their average cousins. Then he managed his ponds to promote fast growth.

“We don’t use any hormones to grow the crawfish to this size,” he said laughing. “We dry up the ponds in the summer, plant plenty of feed and oxygenate the water, which makes the crawfish grow faster.”

He thought his plan would work, but the crawfish responded way beyond his expectations.

“We used Bell River crawfish to stock the pond, but these are even bigger than those,” he said. “They’re beautiful crawfish and they’re not a hard, hard crawfish.

“Sometimes towards the end of the season (the end of May) the crawfish will get hard to peel.”

But Matherne’s dream doesn’t stop at just raising prize crawfish; he’s selling lots in his development “Cypress Point” for crawfish-lovers like himself. Cypress Point is arguably the only residential development in existence where residents can set their crawfish traps and hunt ducks right in their own back yard.

“The residents that live on the site use this as their primary residence,” he said. “When you purchase a lot, you’re also acquiring the water rights to the property.”
The community’s covenant restrictions call for a 30-pound-per-day limit on the number of crawfish each homeowner is allowed to catch.

“They can’t sell the crawfish,” he said. “They can boil 30-pounds-per-day for personal consumption.”

The Des Allemands real estate developer has already developed 12 subdivisions in St. Charles and Lafourche Parishes during his 38 years in the business. Lots are available for purchase right now, for those hunting and fishing enthusiasts who want to live in this sportsman’s paradise.

Matherne developed Cypress Point, a 1,700 acre sportsman’s playground along U.S. 90 near the famed Spahr’s Seafood Restaurant in Des Allemands.

“About 75 Acres of the property at Cypress Point has been converted into a gated residential community with 32 home sites,” he said.

Matherne says the property caters to individuals who enjoy the outdoors.

Prospective residents aren’t the only ones interested in the property.

Two weeks ago, someone stole nine sacks of Matherne’s crawfish, but he says he’s not surprised. He was just grateful that the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office caught the thief.

To purchase crawfish from Matherne’s ponds, residents can call 985-537-3065. Matherne also sells regular-size crawfish for $1.50 per pound.

 

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