Louisiana faces a new threat to crawfish ponds and rice fields with the growing species called apple snails.Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries is researching the problem and has identified three spots where the invasive species have made nests.”Once [the snails] get established in a waterway they can produce at such a rate the aquatic vegetation can’t keep up,” said Brac Saylers, LA wildlife and fisheries biologist.If the snails find their way into the rice fields and crawfish ponds, the areas could be destroyed by the snails, Saylers said.
——Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]