The seafood industry plays a very important role in the diversity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s economy. Concentrated in Harrison County, the seafood businesses process and/or sell shrimp, crabs, oysters and fish caught in coastal waters. Studying the waters which bear the seafood is also an important focus for the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is responsible for supporting marketing of Mississippi̓s commercial fisheries products. The DMR provides resources, like the publication “How to Start a Seafood Business in South Mississippi,” to help encourage and support the industry.
Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Professional Development Center in Gulfport is a full-spectrum source for professional training requirements whether they are meteorological, oceanographic or geospatial in nature.
There are a large number of federal and university operations in the area, which are involved in marine, coastal, estuarine and atmospheric research, including the Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanography and Atmospheric Administration and the Navy.
Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center, the University of Southern Mississippi’s J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Gulf Coast Research Lab (GCRL) are local university research centers. These are complemented by local offices of the Gulf of Mexico Program, the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Mississippi Laboratory Southeast Fisheries Science Center, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, the Northern Gulf Institute and the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS).
Stennis Space Center, to the west in Hancock County, has the nation̓s largest concentration of oceanographers and is home to the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC). Supported by one of the world’s largest supercomputing centers, the NMOC provides crucial information to every U.S. fleet operation worldwide.
For more information on the Marine Science Industry – visit www.mscoastmarinescience.com
