Catch of the day: It turns out the steady hands of a surgeon can do more than save lives. Dr. JJ Tabor, general surgeon with the Surgeons Group of Baton Rouge at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, broke at least one record this past weekend by reeling in a giant Warsaw grouper at the International Tarpon Rodeo at Grand Isle. The monster fish weighed in at 383.2 pounds. Tabor already owned the state record for catching grouper with a 358-pound catch back in 2008. He now holds the new rodeo record for grouper, and once certified, will likely hold the state’s new record as well. OLOL has more details. Check out a photo of Tabor and his monster catch.
Compliments to the chef: In June, Bonnie Breaux, executive chef of The St. John Restaurant in St. Martinville, became the first woman to win the Louisiana Seafood Cook-Off. Now, The Advertiser reports the 51-year-old has a shot at being the first woman to win the Great American Seafood Cook-Off. Breaux is up against a dozen chefs from across the country—from Alaska to Rhode Island—but she plans cook what most consider to be a “trash fish” during Saturday’s competition in New Orleans. “I chose the black drum because it is a least-favorite fish of most people. Everybody throws it back,” Breaux says. “My curiosity started there. I’m one of those chefs who will create something great out of something nobody likes.” Read the full story.
In memory: Years after Cindie Roussel lost her son, Blake Terry, in a diving accident in the Gulf of Mexico, she’s carrying on his legacy in a big way. As WGNO-TV reports, Roussel has joined together with others who have lost loved ones in the Gulf of Mexico—particularly, the families of the Deepwater Horizon explosion victims—to erect a monument honoring those who have died at sea. Called Lady of the Gulf, the monument resembles a mermaid and towers at more than 10 feet. When it’s placed on its pedestal in Port Fourchon it will be over 16 feet tall. It will be the first memorial for seamen in Louisiana. There’s currently one in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and one in Madeira Beach, Florida. The project is planned to be completed by the fall 2017. Read the full story.
