VOA标准英语2010年-Crawfish Could Help Louisiana's Seafoo

The ugly looking - but tasty - Louisiana crawfish is deeply linked to the state's culture and economy.  Crawfish is related to shrimp¹, lobster² and crabs³. It grows in fresh water; the most common type is a seasonal⁴ favorite in the Mississippi Delta⁵.  Now, a researcher is looking at a different Louisiana crawfish that could expand the season and help the seafood⁶ industry, devastated⁷ by the oil spill.

Like many migrant workers from Mexico, Jose Palacios is collecting the last batch⁸ of crawfish harvested this year.  

"I am pulling out the traps now,"said Jose Palacios. "All I got was these two bags."

Crawfish is harvested in fresh water, like in this Louisiana rice field. It's a staple⁹ - but a seasonal one.   

When the crawfish season ends, around June, the traps are pulled out and the rice season begins.  

 

"Over the last 10 to 15 years, we produced anywhere between 70 and 100 million pounds of crawfish, with a value of anywhere between $80 to 120 million," said Greg Lutz.

Louisiana State University Professor Greg Lutz has studied crawfish species and the industry for 30 years.  The hope is that another type of crawfish - also grown in fresh water -can expand the season and help bail¹⁰ out Louisiana's Gulf¹¹ coast seafood  industry, crippled by the oil.    

"We are looking at trying to extend the crawfish season," he said. "We are looking at different methods of growing them and we are looking at an alternative species that may be available in a different time of the year."

Here at LSU's Aquaculture Research Station in Baton¹² Rouge¹³, in its ponds and tanks, Lutz is studying another native crawfish.

"This is that alternative species of crawfish," said Lutz. "They lay their eggs in the winter and early spring and they grow all through the summer, so the ideal would be to have crawfish just in time for football season. These are babies and this little species is called shrimp crawfish."

When they're full grown, they can be up to ten centimeters long.

"A female this size right here could have about 300 eggs, maybe 400," he said.

Lutz is also studying native plants that would be best suited as the shrimp crawfish's  main source of food.    

"All of these pools have different combinations of vegetation that we are evaluating and they all have baby shrimp crawfish," explained Greg Lutz.

He says if all goes right, in two or three years shrimp crawfish could become commercial. 

"So we have a native crawfish and native vegetation and hopefully we can augment¹⁴ the production season for crawfish producers," he said.

According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, the southeastern United States has the greatest diversity of crawfish in the world, with Louisiana at the top.  Crawfish is not only desired by humans.  It has all kinds of predators¹⁵.

"Everybody eats crawfish, even turkeys," he said.

In fact, the state of Louisiana consumes almost all of its crawfish.  

But if the research yields results, the ungainly crawfish could become a seafood  favorite all year long. 
 

1 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

2 lobster   

n.龙虾，龙虾肉

参考例句：

• The lobster is a shellfish.龙虾是水生贝壳动物。
• I like lobster but it does not like me.我喜欢吃龙虾，但它不适宜于我的健康。

3 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

5 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

6 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

7 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

8 batch   

n.一批(组，群)；一批生产量

参考例句：

• The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
• I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。

9 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

10 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

13 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

14 augment   

vt.(使)增大，增加，增长，扩张

参考例句：

• They hit upon another idea to augment their income.他们又想出一个增加收入的办法。
• The government's first concern was to augment the army and auxiliary forces.政府首先关心的是增强军队和辅助的力量。

15 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》