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In
a statement, MSCFU cited a 2024 bill that allows private
individuals and companies to lease up to 80% of Mississippi's
natural oyster reefs.
“Over the past several years, the Mississippi State Legislature
has attempted to implement an unconstitutional private leasing
regime," the statement read. “These vague and discriminatory
acts, if implemented, would unjustly exclude our current oyster
fishing families from their direct access to harvest from reefs
that they rely upon for their livelihoods.”
The lawsuit, filed in Harrison County on Thursday, also names
the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and its Executive
Director Joe Spraggins as defendants.
When reached for comment, MDMR referred The Associated Press to
the Mississippi Attorney General's office, which said it could
not comment on active litigation.
MDMR frames the leasing plan as a way to increase oyster
production “while ensuring compliance and environmental and
conservation requirements.”
The lawsuit comes as the state's oyster industry is recovering
after massive freshwater flooding, released through Louisianna's
Bonnet Carré Spillway, killed almost all the oysters on
Mississippi’s most productive reefs in 2019.
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