Mississippi Fishermen Sue the State Over Oyster Reef Leases
BILOXI — A legal battle is underway over Mississippi's plan to lease most of its public oyster reefs to private companies.
A group of commercial fishermen has filed a lawsuit in Harrison County Chancery Court, seeking to block the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources from finalizing the leases.
The case, filed on May 1 by Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United and 20 individual oystermen, argues the leasing program threatens public access, violates constitutional protections and unfairly favors wealthy investors at the expense of working fishermen...
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