Abstract: A hand-held tool for removing the meat from a crawfish tail having a handle adapted to the human hand containing a pair of spring biased opposed elongated concave tongs with curved inward tips. In operation an individual crawfish is broken to separate the head from the tail. The crawfish peeler is inserted into the tail, the tongs passing around the crawfish tail meat within the lower shell; and the crawfish tail meat within and, by means of their differential shape, breaking the individual ligamentary connection between the crawfish meat and the crawfish tail, straightening the shell and encompassing substantially all the crawfish tail meat in a single piece. The tongs are then squeezed slightly together by hand and withdrawn; their shape is such that the crawfish tail meat is pulled out as a single intact piece and substantially no fragments of crawfish remain within the shell.