In “Oh, Snapper! Mislabeled Mississippi Seafood,” Gravy producer Boyce Upholt takes listeners to Biloxi, Mississippi—a town that has

What makes this story particularly fascinating is the public's reaction, or lack

Biloxi's seafood industry once thrived on genuine abundance. Indigenous peoples had harvested oysters here for thousands of years, and by 1904, the town earned its “seafood capital” moniker through a booming cannery industry that shipped Gulf oysters nationally and internationally. But the same forces that built Biloxi's reputation—industrialization and globalization—eventually undermined it. Imported seafood began dragging down local prices in the 1980s, and disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill further devastated

Mary Mahoney’s fraud, meanwhile, turned out to be just the tip of an iceberg. A consulting group used genetic testing and found that out of 44 area restaurants, only 8 were properly labeling their shrimp. Yet Biloxi's dining scene is also experiencing a renaissance. Chefs like Alex Perry at Vestige and Austin Sumrall at White Pillars have earned James Beard nominations while championing local ingredients and sustainable sourcing. Even at more casual spots like Bradley's—located inside a gas station—proprietors prove that serving authentic Gulf seafood can be both affordable and profitable.

What parts of Biloxi’s identity matter? What does it mean, really, to be local? As Biloxi transforms from a working fishing port into a tourist destination dotted with casinos and chain restaurants, the town faces a choice about what parts of its heritage to preserve. The seafood fraud scandal serves as a mirror, reflecting not just economic pressures but cultural ones—revealing how a community that built its identity on the ocean’s bounty must now decide whether that connection still matters.

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