GULFPORT—Mississippi commercial fishermen say years of pushing lawmakers for tougher import and labeling rules are finally translating into national policy proposals—including a federal bill from U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith that would require clearer labeling on seafood. The measure follows state-level reforms along the Gulf Coast and comes as shrimpers warn domestic producers are struggling to compete with cheaper, foreign imports.
“We’ve certainly seen some attention the last couple of years,” said Ryan Bradley, executive director of Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United. “They’re hearing the alarm bells from not only our organization but many organizations all around the country about the dire straits that our seafood industry is in.”
Bradley, a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, said fishermen have spent years urging officials to address uneven competition with foreign imports, market regulations and the loss of local access to natural resources.
“Our seafood industry, all around the country, (is impacted) due to a number of issues—the globalization with the imports, the lack of young fishermen coming into these fisheries,” Bradley said.
Blake Price, deputy director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, said renewed attention comes only after the industry reached a breaking point.
“It’s very unfortunate that it’s taken the industry being on the brink of collapse for this awareness to be made,” Price said. “(But awareness) is greatly welcomed and long overdue.”
State-Level Reforms Lay Groundwork for National Policy Push
A major change this year came with Mississippi House Bill 602, which took effect on July 1 and requires restaurants, seafood markets and wholesalers to label seafood as either domestic or imported. Enforcement is split between the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the Department of Agriculture.
“We’ve seen an increase in demand for our local wild-caught products,” Bradley said.
Price said customers in states that adopt strong labeling laws see better transparency.
“Where labeling laws exist, most restaurants are compliant, and customers are getting local domestic seafood,” he said. “Where labeling laws don’t exist, that’s when we’re at 70% (of restaurants mislabeling foreign seafood as domestic).”
At the federal level, the most recent proposal came in October, when Hyde-Smith filed the Let Americans Buy with Explicit Labeling (LABEL) Act. The bill would require seafood sold in stores to list country of origin and production method in the same font size as the product name, expanding visibility beyond existing requirements.
The measure is part of a growing slate of federal proposals aimed at import enforcement, safety standards and trade policy—momentum Price said reflects national acknowledgement of pressure from coastal states like Mississippi.
“I don’t recall another administration really taking a look, and that’s from the top down,” he said. “We’ve got an administration that understands the importance of American products and jobs.”
Other federal efforts introduced this year include:
- Safer Shrimp Imports Act Blocks imports from countries without U.S. inspection standards.
- Save Our Shrimpers Act Prohibits federal funding from supporting foreign shrimp farms.
- India Shrimp Tariff Act Imposes escalating tariffs on shrimp from India.
- Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act: Gives the FDA authority to destroy unsafe seafood shipments.
- Imported Seafood Quality Enforcement Act: Requires inspections and penalties for repeated food safety violations.
- Imported Seafood Safety Standards Act: Creates a fund to increase inspection and consumption of U.S. shrimp products.
The proposals align with Executive Order 14276 to reform “overregulated fisheries,” expand domestic processing and strengthen seafood trade enforcement.
Market Rebounds as Enforcement Gains Traction
Bradley and Price credit the legislative momentum with helping to lift shrimp prices in 2025—a much-needed shift after years of historic lows.
“Shrimp prices are up thanks to some of that action,” Bradley said. “The guys are catching some nice shrimp right now, actually, and getting a good price for them.”
Price said tariffs have narrowed pricing gaps between imported and domestic seafood.
“They have great potential to provide much-needed relief and create an even and fair market for our U.S. commercial shrimp industry … across the board of commercial seafood industries,” Price said. “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.”
With multiple bills pending and enforcement still ramping up, fishermen say progress depends on sustained action.
“To introduce things is nice and all, but it’s better to get it passed,” Bradley said.
Price agreed and said swift legislative action could stabilize the domestic seafood industry.
“Enacting a few key pieces of legislation in the near term could provide short- and long-term relief for our industries and really crank up the market, which it deserves,” he said.
This article first appeared on RHCJC and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.