Page 44 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2019

shore thing
South Mississippi is known for its sand beaches, which at 26 miles is the largest human-made beach in the world, and casinos, bringing tourists to the area by the droves.
But it has also made a reputation for being the state’s hotspot for fresh Gulf seafood, with some of the finest restaurants in the South.
For more than 100 years, local fishermen have been catching and selling their fresh seafood along the Coast. In fact, the Biloxi Lighthouse was built in 1848 to guide the fishermen safely back to shore, bringing their fresh shrimp and oysters with them.
According to scientists with both the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Lab, the water of the Mississippi Sound south of the barrier islands is perfect for the cultivation of shrimp and oysters. While the water
is considered brackish and it may look “dirty,” it is, in fact, a healthy living ecosystem. The water of the Sound has a brownish green hue because it is the point where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico.
By the early 20th Century, according to Mississippi historians, Biloxi was known as the “Seafood Capital of the World,” processing millions of pounds of oysters and shrimp annually in some of the many seafood processing
plants along the city’s waterfront and Back Bay.
“Biloxi has a rich history with the seafood industry,” said City of Biloxi Public Affairs Director Vincent Creel. “While it’s not what it was once was, we still have some processing on the Back Bay — Rudy Lesso has a seafood processing business. And at the city’s commercial harbor, which is South of the Hard Rock, we have some vendors who sell freshly caught shrimp and oysters right off of the boat and on the dock.”
The seafood industry, like many Coast businesses, was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. The BP Oil Spill
a few years later only made things worse, especially for the oyster reefs of South Mississippi. Combined with the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway in St. Charles Parrish, Louisiana and the red tide bloom event of December 2015, it has not been easy for those who make a living harvesting oysters in South Mississippi. But a long-term plan from DMR and investments from the
private sector are hoping to bring the oyster industry back to prominence. “There was definitely a shortage of
oysters after Katrina and the oil spill,” oyster farmer Than Nguyen said. “Restaurants had to get them out of Louisiana. We started an oyster farm south of Deer Island – we planted the oysters in the summer of 2018 and we had a good harvest this year. We sell them to Beau Rivage. Next year, we hope to able to sell them to restaurants and shops along the Coast.”
While South Mississippi continues
to rebuild its seafood industry,
there are still many places along the Coast where one can get off-the-boat seafood. In Pass Christian, Kimball’s is located right in the city’s harbor and sells fresh succulent oysters, shrimp and other seafood items. In Biloxi, longtime fresh seafood vendors includes Gollott’s and Sons on Central Avenue and Quality Seafood & Poultry on Division Street. Another Biloxi staple, Desportes & Sons Seafood, boasts a fantastic market and deli.
44 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • May 2019
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story by Jeff Clark photos by Tim Isbell