Rising to the Challenge

Mississippi and Alabama living marine resources provisions a seafood industry that contributes ~40% of domestic seafood supplied by the Gulf of Mexico, and to the multibillion-dollar fishing and tourism industry. Rapid population growth, warming waters, extreme events, and erosion and habitat degradation stress the ecosystems of the Gulf that support living marine resources, and by consequence fishing and tourism enterprises, the fishing and seafood industry, the infrastructure that processes and transports product regionally and globally, and the health, well-being, and food sovereignty of people in these industries and communities. The recreational and commercial seafood industry is an economic driver across MS-AL Gulf communities and is deeply intertwined with heritage, culture, tourism, recreation, commerce, trade, and health. The demand for fish by consumers grows with continued demand and need for inexpensive and quality protein. Although the stocks of Gulf of Mexico living marine resources in state and federal waters are generally sustainable and the fisheries are well managed, demand is high: Up to 90% of the total US seafood supply is imported to meet consumer demand. The resilience of the seafood industry is a challenge that collides at the intersection of food security, environmental change, and energy demand for the people of the Gulf. The MS-AL Gulf economy cannot afford to lose seafood resources.

Holistic and Participatory Approach

Our
Solution

Nature-based solutions will be deployed to improve the quality of coastal environments and sustain and diversify wild harvest and aquaculture seafood species.

Synergistically, we will reduce energy and pollutant emissions via wind and solar technology towards more sustainable inland aquaculture systems.

Community Engagement

We will also engage K-12, seafood workforce, and entrepreneurs around these seafood challenges to expand, diversify, and modernize the MS-AL seafood workforce.

Our solutions are supported by a robust community engagement plan to engage broader stakeholders in the solutions process, broadly communicate progress, findings, and impacts across diverse media, and provide funding support for community-driven innovations

Robust Assessment and Monitoring

We will also build on our existing coastal and facilities infrastructure to support robust assessment and monitoring of environmental and human health impacts.

Who will
Benefit?

The seafood industry and MS-AL Gulf communities will intensely benefit from the positive energy, environment, and health impacts of our solution. Our solutions will also be transferrable to the broader Gulf and coastal fisheries and communities.

Key Partners

Project Leadership

Our team consists of experts on the oceans and coasts, education, community engagement, health , technology innovation and business development with interest in connecting diverse perspectives and expertise around living resources of the Gulf to community health. We bring together USM’s coastal research centers, academic units, and Office of Technology Development with external partners into work addressing the challenge of sustainable seafood for the Gulf of Mexico, and broadening access and opportunity in the seafood industry.