COLUMBIA (WACH) -- If you've taken a visit to a Lizard's Thicket restaurant lately you may have noticed catfish is no longer on the menu.

Slow production and higher prices forced some owners to pull the catch of the day from their businesses.

Local Lizard's Thicket officials say they just can't afford it.

There is an option to serve up a less expensive substitute from southeast Asia, but officials here in Columbia say they're not biting that bait.

"We can't vive a good value and we've always tried to give a good value," South Carolina Lizard's Thicket President Bobby Williams says.  "We thought about maybe charging a dollar more per order, but we don't know if the customers really, the way the economy is right now, it's a tough thing to do and we have to give everybody the best value."

Williams explains if the prices come down, customers may see catfish back on the menu in the fall.