Domestic or imported? MS will join neighbors by demanding honesty in seafood labeling
Mississippi consumers should soon be able to tell if they are being served imported seafood rather than having it passed off as fresh from the Gulf.
A seafood disclosure law passed both the House and Senate and is headed to Gov. Tate Reeves, who is expected to sign it. The law would take effect July 1.
Louisiana and Alabama already have seafood labeling laws, but previous attempts to pass one in Mississippi have failed.
Sen. Mike Thompson, who supported the bill, said, “In my mind, I think it’s a good start, but I think we can do more.”
Thompson wouldn’t exactly call it a seafood labeling law because sellers are allowed some leeway in how they let customers know if the establishment is offering imported seafood. The notice could be printed “on a menu, sales display or any other form of advertisement,” the law says.
He wants to see a strong marketing campaign developed out of the law, which also establishes a committee to study promotion of Mississippi Coast seafood.
After previous failures, the effort gained new momentum in the wake of a federal seafood mislabeling case pressed against two Biloxi institutions: wholesaler and retailer Quality Poultry & Seafood and Mary Mahoney’s Old French House restaurant.
“We need to win back that trust,” said Austin Sumrall, chef and owner at White Pillars restaurant in Biloxi, and an enthusiastic promoter of Gulf seafood. “I think laws for labeling and keeping people honest are the only way forward.”
Bill aimed at boosting seafood industry
State Rep. Brent Anderson of Bay St. Louis, who authored the bill, believes it will also bolster business for beleaguered Mississippi Coast shrimpers, oystermen and fishermen who must compete with cheaper foreign imports.
When Louisiana passed its law, customers from that state, who previously bought cheaper imported shrimp, were clamoring for Gulf shrimp, wholesaler Bethany Fayard has told the Sun Herald.
The proposed law makes it illegal in Mississippi for wholesalers, processors, retailers, restaurants and other food service establishments to represent imported seafood and crawfish as domestic.
Penalties for violating the law range from at least $500 for a first offense to at least $10,000 for a fourth or subsequent violation. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture, based in Jackson, and the Department of Marine Resources, in Biloxi, are charged with enforcing the law. The law also gives the agencies authority to inspect and test seafood at applicable businesses.
While the bill appeared in jeopardy after it passed the House and reached the Senate, Anderson persisted to get it passed, saying he wouldn’t settle for just a study on seafood labeling, as Thompson’s Senate committee proposed. The final bill was worked out in a conference committee of House and Senate members, including Anderson and Thompson, before both bodies voted this week to support the changes.
“I held to my guns,” Anderson said.
Sean Desporte, owner of Desporte Seafood LLC in Biloxi, said he thinks the law will be good for business. He said that his business has always let customers know whether they’re buying domestic or imported seafood.
“Some customers want imports because they’re cheaper,” he said. “We want the customers to be able to pick.
“ . . . It’s going to help us show everyone that we are doing the right thing and we want everyone to know what they’re getting. I just think it’s a great thing.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 4:41 PM.
