Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser's main focus in that position is to bring attention to the state of Louisiana. Tourism is a big deal for our state and of our state's biggest attractions is the food.

One of our favorite foods to enjoy is crawfish. We eat a lot of crawfish. According to Nungesser, it's about 120 million pounds that we are eating. So, crawfish is not only important to those of us who live here but it's a pretty big draw for tourists to come see what all the fuss is about.

So, why would our Lt. Governor take time out of his busy schedule to set one little crawfish free? So people like me would write stories for people you to read so you'd have a better understanding of just how important Louisiana crawfish are to our economy.

Nungesser told the Louisiana Radio Network that this "crawfish pardon" ceremony won't just be a one-time thing. There is also a bit of an honor that is included in the naming of the pardoned crawfish.

This year the crawfish was named Emile in honor of the founder of Zatarain's Seasoning.

So in honor of him for all those great spices that make the crawfish so delicious because we wouldn’t eat them fresh out of the ground without that great seasoning.

Every year the plan is to honor another Louisiana resident or individual who has contributed to the crawfish industry by naming the pardoned crawfish in their honor.

Hopefully, we’ll have another lucky crawfish that’s out there this year that can escape the nets and we’ll take one lucky crawfish next year and pardon it as well.

Nungesser says the pardoning ceremony will be an annual event that will take place on the first Tuesday after Mardi Gras.

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