October 30, 2025 — As we celebrate National Seafood Month this October, we must take a moment to acknowledge how and why we’re falling short on providing Mississippians with fresh local seafood.
We’re faced with a real problem: we do not have enough wild-caught fish to meet the growing demand. And this has consequences that reverberate through our kitchens and the commercial fishing industry.
For consumers, this means less American-grown seafood on our plates. And as waters continue to get warmer and fish stocks shrink or move, it could also mean fewer jobs for professional fishermen like me and fewer fish on plates. While regional fishery management councils have taken steps to protect fish stocks, the truth is wild-caught fisheries alone cannot meet the growing demand for seafood in the U.S. We must supplement fishermen’s efforts with science-based, sustainable open ocean aquaculture.