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St. Mary’s Mardi Gras season is officially underway.
At Saturday’s Krewe of Hera ball at Morgan City Municipal Auditorium, Stacey Landry was crowned Queen Hera IV and Jerry “Tillman” Simmons II as King Hera IV.
The krewe’s fourth tableau celebrated “Hera Explores National Parks.”
Landry was represented as “The Grand Prismatic Spring.” Simmons was represented as Mammoth Hot Springs.”
The focus now moves to the Krewe of Adonis, which will conduct its ball Saturday, also at Morgan City Municipal Auditorium.
Unlike the jammed 2024 season, the 2025 Mardi Gras calendar gives local krewes five weeks of pre-carnival celebrations. This year’s Mardi Gras is Tuesday, March 4. The latest possible date for Mardi Gras is March 8.
Here are the east St. Mary balls and parades on this year’s schedule.

Hera
Parade
The Krewe of Hera Parade will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, March 3, in Morgan City. It begins on Second Street under the La. 182 bridge and proceeds to Onstead Street, continuing down Sixth Street to Marguerite Street, Ninth Street/La. 70, Clothilde onto Victor II Boulevard and ending at the Morgan City Auditorium on Myrtle Street.

Adonis
The Krewe of Adonis ball will be Feb. 1 at Morgan City Auditorium.
Parade
The Krewe of Adonis Parade will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 in Morgan City. It begins on Second Street under the La. 182 bridge and proceeds to Onstead Street continuing down Sixth Street to Marguerite Street, Ninth Street/La. 70, Brashear Avenue onto Victor II Boulevard and ending at the Morgan City Auditorium on Myrtle Street.

Nike
The Nike children’s krewe ball will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at Morgan City Auditorium. There will be no public viewing. Tickets are available from board members.
Parade
The Krewe of Nike Parade will follow the Galatea Parade at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2.

Galatea
The Krewe of Galatea ball will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 15 at Morgan City Auditorium. Attendance will be by invitation only.
Parade
The Krewe of Galatea Parade will be 2 p.m. Sunday, March 2, in Morgan City. It begins on Second Street under the La. 182 bridge and proceeds to Onstead Street continuing down Sixth Street to Marguerite Street, Ninth Street/La. 70, Brashear Avenue onto Victor II Boulevard and ending at the Morgan City Auditorium on Myrtle Street.

Krewe of
Amani Kids
The children’s krewe will have its ball Feb. 15 at the Patterson Area Civic Center, 116 Cotten Road, Patterson. Doors will open at 5:45 p.m., and the event begins at 6 p.m. The doors close at 6 p.m.

Hannibal
The Krewe of Hannibal ball will be at 8 p.m. Feb. 22 at Morgan City Auditorium. There will be no public viewing. Doors will close at 7:50 p.m.
Parade
The Krewe of Hannibal Parade will follow the Galatea and Nike parades in Morgan City about 3 p.m. Sunday, March 2.

Dionysus
The Krewe of Dionysus ball is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Berwick Civic Center, 300 Pattie Drive.
Parade
The Krewe of Dionysus Parade will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 1, in Berwick.
The procession will line up on Gilmore Drive and turn on John Street, Robicheaux Street, Mount Street, Gilmore Drive, right on La. 182, Tournament Boulevard, Fairview Drive then to Pattie Drive, where it will disband at Berwick Junior High School.

Hephaestus
The Krewe of Hephaestus ball will be at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 1, at Morgan City Auditorium. There will be public viewing from the balcony. Admission is free.
Parade
The Krewe of Hephaestus Parade will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, in Morgan City. It begins on the corner of Sixth and Sycamore Street, proceeds on Sixth Street to Marguerite Street to Ninth Street/La. 70, to Clothilde, to Victor II Boulevard and ending at the Morgan City Auditorium on Myrtle Street

Amani
The Krewe of Amani Ball will be 8 p.m. Saturday, March 1, at the Patterson Area Civic Center, 116 Cotten Drive, Patterson. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and close at 7:55 p.m.
Tickets are $50 through EZticket.com with a code available through board members.
Parade
The Krewe of Amani Parade will be at 2 p.m. Monday, March 3. It begins at Patterson High School on La. 182/Main Street and continues down La. 182/Main Street to Place Norman Shopping Center.

Siracusaville
Parade
Participants will line up on Siracusa Road at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, and proceed to James Street and Grace Street before ending at the Siracusaville Recreation Center.

Louisiana’s seafood industry is gearing up for a major shift as the state’s new labeling law takes effect. The Louisiana Department of Health is set to enforce Act 372, which mandates clear labeling for imported shrimp, crawfish, and other seafood.
This legislation, which applies to restaurants, retailers and suppliers, aims to ensure transparency for consumers and protect Louisiana’s iconic seafood industry.
The law comes in response to growing concerns about misleading packaging and menu descriptions.
Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain explained how the rules work at a Seafood Safety Task Force hearing on Jan. 15.
“If a package features Louisiana imagery — like a shrimp boat or a Gulf Coast scene — but the seafood is imported, it must include the country of origin in 30-point font on the front of the package,” Strain said.
The legislative intent behind Act 372 is clear. Lawmakers highlighted the importance of shielding consumers from deceptive marketing and safeguarding public health.
The state’s seafood culture, renowned globally, faces threats from mislabeled products. Terms like “Gulf” and “Louisiana caught” often appear on seafood originating from foreign countries that lack Louisiana’s stringent quality standards.
Enforcement will involve inspections by the Department of Agriculture during routine checks. Noncompliance could lead to hefty fines, ranging from $15,000 for a first offense to $50,000 for repeated violations. Retailers found in violation may face stop orders halting the sale of mislabeled products until corrective actions are taken. To avoid waste, businesses can add compliant stickers to existing inventory.
The task force emphasized that the goal is consumer awareness, not targeting specific businesses. However, the scale of seafood mislabeling across the Gulf Coast underscores the urgency of the issue.
Recent investigations have revealed alarming levels of deception. For example, a study of 44 restaurants in Biloxi, Mississippi, found that 82% were misrepresenting imported shrimp as Gulf-caught. Similarly, Royal Red Shrimp— a premium, FDA-protected variety — was often substituted with cheaper Argentinian shrimp.
This kind of fraud not only misleads consumers but also undermines Louisiana’s domestic seafood market. Gulf shrimp, once a hallmark of local pride, has been devalued by imports marketed as local. Erin Williams of SeaD Consulting warned that this deception drives down demand for authentic Gulf shrimp and jeopardizes the livelihoods of shrimpers and coastal communities.
“If customers think they’re already buying Gulf shrimp, there’s no incentive for restaurants or distributors to pay a fair price for the real thing,” Williams told The Center Square in December.
The challenges facing Louisiana’s seafood industry extend beyond labeling. Over 90% of shrimp consumed in the U.S. is imported, with much of it originating from countries like India, Ecuador, and China.
These imports often contain chemicals banned in the United States, raising additional health concerns. Moreover, foreign producers benefit from substantial government subsidies, giving them a significant edge over U.S. shrimpers who receive little support.
David Chauvin, a Louisiana seafood company owner, is among those fighting back. He’s awaiting a ruling from the International Trade Commission on a case against major shrimp-exporting nations. Chauvin argues that unfair subsidies and the U.S. Treasury’s inaction have devastated the domestic shrimping industry.
“We’re not asking for handouts; we’re asking for a level playing field,” he said.
The financial strain on Louisiana’s shrimpers is compounded by skyrocketing diesel prices, which have surged over 30% since President Joe Biden took office.
High fuel costs, coupled with declining shrimp prices due to import competition, are forcing many shrimpers to dock their boats for good.

After the historic arctic blast and double-digit inches of snowfall in many crawfish-producing parishes, many are wondering if there will be a repeat of 2024 that saw small harvests and high prices due to the previous year’s drought.
LSU AgCenter researchers are cautiously optimistic that there is barely a snowball’s chance in Acadiana of that happening.
 AgCenter crawfish agent Todd Fontenot said that due to the physiology of the crustaceans, there may be a short dip in production. But as temperatures begin to return to normal for this time of year, harvesters, restaurants and home boilers should witness a quick rebound.
 “We don’t foresee it being more than a temporary slowdown,” he said. “Since crawfish are cold blooded, their bodies slow down and they burrow as low as they can get in the mud and vegetation and stay there to protect themselves from the elements and predators because they are most vulnerable at that stage.”
 When crawfish are facing these conditions, they’re not foraging and eating, so it does tend to set production back a bit as long as the weather remains frigid, Fontenot said.
During longer, sustained periods of freezing, production could be adversely affected. But the deeper the water in the pond, the more insulated the crawfish are when burrowing down, Fontenot said.
While Fontenot said there was some ice on his pond north of Eunice, it wasn’t significant, with the deeper water measuring above freezing at 36 degrees near the bottom.
With temperatures expected to rise into the 70s next week, Fontenot expects the mudbugs to start looking for food again and production to ramp up shortly thereafter.
“I think we’re going to rebound faster than previous years where it might have stayed in the 40s the week following a hard freeze,” he said. “With the positive upcoming forecast, I think it will take about a week, so folks should feel optimistic about getting their crawfish for the Super Bowl.”
When it comes to one of crawfish farmers’ biggest enemies — the invasive apple snail species, which disrupts harvest season — Louisiana is in a bit of uncharted territory.
“The cold tolerance of apple snails hasn’t been thoroughly studied,” said AgCenter entomologist Blake Wilson. “Through much of the winter, the snails stay dormant beneath the soil surface in flooded ponds. So they are generally insulated from the coldest temperatures.”
Wilson expects the snail eggs to have been killed, as they are above the water surface with no protection from the cold. But he does not anticipate the weather having a significant effect on populations next spring because egg numbers are low during the winter months anyway.
“Having said all that, these are the coldest temperatures invasive snail populations would have experienced since becoming widely distributed in the state,” Wilson said. “They haven’t been successful establishing much further north, presumably because they are unable to survive colder winters, so there is a chance it will have a more pronounced effect than I think. Time will tell.”

News about St. Mary Parish college students:
McNeese
McNeese State University conferred degrees on 542 graduates during two ceremonies for the university’s 163rd commencement on Dec. 13 in McNeese’s Legacy Center.
Among the graduates was Doelissia Campbell Robinson of Morgan City, who received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Northwestern State
St. Mary students were among those who made honors lists for the fall 2024 semester. at the Natchitoches university.
Honor's List
(3.0-3.49 GPA)
Morgan City: Trent Hillen, Tin Huynh
Dean's List
(3.5-3.99)
Morgan City: Alyssa Domangue, A’laiya Favors, Kaitlyn Waguespack 
President's List
(4.0)
Morgan City: Noah Castaneda, Natalie Gonzalez, Lacey  Guagliardo, Paulina  Trejo