DMR outlines seafood disaster payments and moves to refine labeling rules; task force work continues

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources reported progress on several seafood relief and marketing initiatives and outlined next steps for seafood labeling rules.

The executive director told commissioners the department had distributed about 92% of 2019 disaster funds to 23 of 24 applicants and has a 2020 grant program with roughly $3 million available. "We spend a little over 3 point I did 3,700,000.0, a grant program for new and emerging seafood processing technologies that's going out," the director said. The director added that under the 2020 program shrimpers were receiving awards in the neighborhood of $7,500 and oyster harvesters about $10,000, and that most payments are being made as staff finish reviews.

Officials emphasized that Mississippi is unusual among Gulf states in using disaster funds to directly compensate fishermen for losses. "The only state in the Gulf that uses their disaster money to pay the fishermen is Mississippi," the director said. "No other state uses it to pay the missus pay their shrimpers and orchmen and finfish and crabbers or anything else for their loss." The director framed the policy as an effort to help local harvesters recover.

On seafood labeling, the department said the Mississippi Seafood Task Force held meetings Sept. 18 and Oct. 13 and is developing rules to make seafood origin labeling clearer without imposing unnecessary burdens on restaurants and markets. Staff said they expect to propose modifications to House Bill 602 next year to clarify labeling requirements, and that the department is balancing federal country-of-origin rules with state labeling aims so businesses are not inadvertently required to violate federal law.

Public-affairs staff also reported extensive outreach and promotional activity, including Cruise the Coast sponsorship and 1,000 pounds of shrimp served as samples at promotional events. The department said that restaurants and markets are generally cooperative with labeling efforts, but that menu printing costs and variable weekly supplies make a simple, practicable approach to labeling necessary.

Staff did not present a formal rule change at the meeting; commissioners were informed of ongoing task force work and of the status of grant disbursements.