by Ewell Smith/Gulf Seafood News
Venice Marina hugs the Gulf of Mexico with some of the best fish being landed year-round. Anglers from across the globe bring rod and reel to the famed marina expecting to fill their fishing boats with daily limits. Recently the fishing boats and rods and reels were replaced with airboats loaded with camouflaged rifle-carrying men in search of an invasive species, the Nutria.
Chef Philippe Parola with nutria before the preparation for his nutria gumbo. Photo: Ewell Smith/Gulf Seafood News
More than 40 teams signed up for the 2nd Annual Nutria Rodeo, raising awareness of an invasive species causing extensive damage to Louisiana’s wetlands. Nutria or coypu (Myocastor coypus) are semi-aquatic rodents native to southern South America introduced into the U.S. in 1899 for fur farming. The invasive species is having detrimental impacts in Louisiana and southern and eastern United States, as well as countries in the Far East like South Korea. They damage crops, marsh vegetation, and water control structures.
Running and gunning across the Louisiana bayous isn’t your typical day afield. Teams jockeyed to kill the most nutria in the name of conservation. Contestants were hunting and competing. The concept is simple, eliminate as many rats as possible in two days and bring them to the weigh-in at the Venice Marina.
What was the final opinion on the nutria gumbo? It was all thumbs up! Photo: Ewell Smith/Gulf Seafood News
Back at the Venice Marina while a zydeco band plays in the background, Chef Philippe Parola was there to educate the public on how to help address the issue – as Chef Parola says,” if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em. “
The Chef was turning just a tiny fraction of the nutria brought that day into a nutria gumbo that evening for the more than 300 hunters. As the day went on more than 1,900 nutrias were brought in by contestants. Some weighed as much as 22 pounds. Per Chef Parola, that’s enough nutria to feed 40,000 people in need of food while helping to address an invasive species that’s helping to destroy Louisiana’s fragile ecosystem.
What was the final opinion on the nutria gumbo? It was all thumbs up!
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