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DMR pushes seafood‑labeling bill, plans Gulf Fresh marketing after passage
Summary
Mississippi DMR director told the commission the department’s top legislative priority is a seafood‑labeling bill that would require restaurants, markets and distributors to indicate whether seafood is domestic or foreign. The agency plans to create a ‘Gulf Fresh’ marketing program if the law passes.
Director Joe Spraggins told the Mississippi Advisory Commission on Marine Resources that the department’s leading bill this legislative session would require seafood sellers — restaurants, markets and distributors — to label product origin as domestic or foreign.
Spraggins said the labeling requirement is intended to help Gulf harvesters and steer consumers toward locally caught product. He described plans to follow passage with a state marketing effort, to be run through DMR and tourism partners, that would promote participating businesses as ‘‘Gulf Fresh’’ and include advertising and signage.
Spraggins compared the proposal to earlier labeling statutes, saying Mississippi required catfish labeling after a 1975 law. He told commissioners DMR has been meeting with restaurants and other stakeholders to refine the bill and that staff expect the legislation to pass without major resistance.
Commissioners and staff also discussed related administrative bills, including changes tied to public‑records treatment of licensee information and clarifications to the agency’s advisory‑commission authority. Spraggins said DMR is pursuing an exemption similar to wildlife license confidentiality so licensee personal information would not be released in response to public‑records requests.
No commission action was required; staff said they will track the bills and brief the commission as bills move through the legislature.
