Agency asks retailers and restaurants to label seafood as imported or domestic, plans task force to craft rules

Mississippi Department of Marine Resources officials said they are assembling a task force to develop rules requiring seafood sold at retail and in restaurants to be labeled as imported or domestic, and they asked industry participants to begin voluntarily identifying product origin while the task force meets. At the meeting the director said the agency is "still trying to put our task force together" and requested that restaurants, grocery stores and market operators "please try every way you can to label your seafood the way it should be. It's either imported or domestic right now." The director added the task force will meet to draft rules and that the agency will provide exact labeling details to businesses in the near future. Discussion only at this meeting: staff outlined the planned task force and urged voluntary compliance by retailers and restaurants; no formal rule, ordinance or regulation was adopted at the session. The director did not specify a deadline for rule completion or the legal mechanism that will be used to require labels. Why it matters: origin labeling affects consumer information and traceability for seafood products sold in restaurants and markets; rules could change how local seafood is marketed and how businesses document product origin.