Page 50 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2023

LEISURE
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• Explore the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum. • Take a ride on the Biloxi Schooner.
• Purchase shrimp from any number of shrimp boats
docked at harbors across the Coast.
• Book a Biloxi Shrimping Trip Tour.
• Buy a cast net and try your hand at catching shrimp!
• Go to the beach late at night and observe a fisherman on
the hunt for flounder.
• Order some fresh Coastal Mississippi seafood at one of
the amazing restaurants. October 2023
Our seafood roots run deep here, even mine with my grandfather working on a South Mississippi shrimp boat his whole life. But way before that, the Seafood Industry began. And even though the area always held rich resources, the seafood business didn’t really kick into gear until around the late 1800s with the development of the railroad service. Prior to that, things couldn’t travel too far without spoiling.
In 1881, the first oyster packing enterprise opened its doors in Biloxi. By 1890, the population of the area doubled and it has been claimed that Biloxi canneries processed 614,000 pounds of shrimp and a whopping 2,000,000 pounds of oysters that year. By 1902, those numbers more than tripled, and by 1903, Biloxi was referred to as the “Seafood Capital of the World.” I believe it as I’ve heard stories of towers of oyster shells all along the water’s edge! Over the years, these shells were frequently used as road material.
Even though prices have changed a bunch since then (shrimp prices averaged $3 for a 200-pound barrel), some of the tools and methods they used back then are still used today in some form. But we’ve come a long way from oyster shells lining the streets, huh?
Whether you’d like to step back in history or immerse yourself in the very delicious world of Coastal Mississippi seafood, here is a must do list for you:
story and photos by Nicole Jean Martz