Crayfish announced as China's favorite dish of 2017

Crazy for China's crayfish

Crayfish were first brought to East China's Jiangsu province by a Japanese merchant in the 1920s. According to the Global Times, they appeared in the Jianghan Plain, where Qianjiang is located, about 30 years ago.

They weren't always a welcome addition to the ecosystem, especially for local farmers.

"They pinched off rice seedlings in the paddy fields, and made tunnels in ridges that caused water loss," said Liu Zhuquan from Baowan village in Qianjiang.

In the beginning, crayfish were little more than a nuisance for the rice farmers of eastern and central China, but now the invasive species has become big business for one city.

China is the world's largest producer of crayfish, with annual output accounting for over 70 percent of the world's total.

Around 80 percent of crayfish produced in Qianjiang were exported to Europe and the United States as pre-cooked food products.

Oddly enough, one of the largest US consumer's of China's crayfish is the state of Louisiana where crayfish originally came from.

Known in China as crayfish, they are called crawfish in Louisiana. Same freshwater delight just in a different tone in the name.