Mississippi shrimpers continue push for clearer seafood labeling

Justin Glowacki -Roy Howard Community Journalism Center

Mississippi shrimpers say their years-long push for clearer seafood labeling is finally gaining traction, not just across the Gulf Coast, but in Congress.

Justin Glowacki with the Roy Howard Community Journalism Center shows us how the changes could level the playing field for U.S fishermen competing with foreign imports.

Ryan Bradley is a fifth-generation commercial fisherman and executive director of Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United.

He says lawmakers are finally responding after years of pressure from shrimpers. “We’re getting a lot of attention this year, and I think that the policymakers and the leadership is finally starting to hear the cries of the working-class people about the dire situations of the seafood industry.”

July first, Mississippi enacted a law requiring seafood to be labeled as domestic or imported. “Now consumers can look in and find out if the seafood they’re eating or they’re purchasing is foreign or domestic.”

That same momentum has made its way to Washington, D.C. with the help of U.S. Congresswoman Cindy Hyde-Smith.

The goal — increase transparency when it comes to where seafood is from.

That legislation joins a growing list of other efforts, including an executive order, focused on deregulation, trade and safety.

Blake Price, the deputy director of Southern Shrimp Alliance, says America’s attention to the commercial seafood industry is long overdue. Price said, “We’ve got an administration that understands the importance of American products and jobs.”

Bradley and Price say, after years of historic low catches and prices, fishermen finally feel the relief that comes with having support overcoming international competition. “It’s not just the fishermen, the captains, the crew, the folks working at the fish house and at distribution centers. Our local and regional coastal economies were built upon this.”

Now, with multiple bills pending in Congress and local enforcement still ramping up, Bradley says progress depends on sustained action. “To introduce things is nice and all, but it’s better to get it passed.”