Vol. 6, Issue 15 - What are the Seafood Products Served by Mississippi Restaurants?

Filed Under:

Agri-business, Seafood Economics, Agricultural Economics

August 15, 2016

What are the Seafood Products Served by Mississippi Restaurants?

Posadas, Benedict C. Mississippi MarketMaker Newsletter, Vol. 6, Issue 15, August 16, 2016.

Seafood restaurants registered in MarketMaker

There are almost 6,000 restaurants registered in MarketMaker that serve fish and shellfish products. When the search was limited to Mississippi only, the number of seafood restaurants was 127. Click this LINK to view the search results online. You can sort the results alphabetically, by relevance, or by distance to your current location.

Seafood products served by Mississippi restaurants

A mail survey of 1,500 randomly selected eating and drinking places operating in Mississippi was conducted in summer and fall 2011. The full report of the results of the survey is posted at http://www.mafes.msstate.edu/publications/bulletins/b1219.pdf. Almost 300 full-service and limited-service restaurants operating in Mississippi participated in the survey.

The results of the survey indicated that more than two-thirds of the participating restaurants served seafood products in 2009. The lists of fish and shellfish species preferred by seafood restaurants show that the most important species are harvested from the state and federal waters or grown in fish farms in the Gulf of Mexico states.

The leading fish species purchased by the participating establishments was catfish, followed by tilapia, salmon, tuna, and snapper (Table 1). The second group of fish species purchased by participating restaurants included flounder, mahi-mahi, grouper, cobia, and red drum.

Shrimp was the top shellfish species purchased by the participating establishments trailed by oysters, crawfish, scallops, and blue crab (Table 2). The second cluster of shellfish species purchased by participating seafood restaurants included snow crab, lobsters, squid, mussels, and clams.

Table 1. Top ten fish species served by participating Mississippi seafood restaurants
Fish species bought	Number of establishments	Percent of establishments
Catfish	134	45.9
Tilapia	55	18.8
Salmon	53	17.8
Tuna	41	13.7
Snapper	36	12.3
Flounder	30	10.3
Mahi-Mahi, Dolphin fish	25	8.6
Grouper	24	8.2
Cobia, Lemonfish	15	5.1
Red Drum	12	4.1

Table 2. Top ten shellfish species served by participating Mississippi seafood restaurants
Shellfish species bought	Number of establishments	Percent of establishments
Shrimp	169	57.9
Oysters	77	26.4
Crawfish	58	19.9
Scallops	43	14.7
Blue Crab	25	8.6
Snow Crab (Opilio)	21	7.2
Lobsters	21	7.2
Squid (Calamari)	20	6.8
Mussels	15	5.1
Clams	15	5.1

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is MarketMaker?
MarketMaker is the largest and most in-depth database of its kind, featuring a diverse community of food-related businesses: buyers, farmers/ranchers, fisheries, farmers markets, processors/packers, wineries, restaurants, and more. MarketMaker provides simple yet powerful search tools to connect with others across the production and distribution chain (http://ms.foodmarketmaker.com/).

Where can you find Mississippi MarketMaker?

MarketMaker is located at http://ms.foodmarketmaker.com/.
Ask Siri or Cortana to search for “Mississippi MarketMaker” on your smart phone.

How do you register your food business in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Click Register and type your email address and a password in the spaces under Register. Be prepared to enter information (and pictures) about your business.

What are the benefits in registering your food business in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Producers register their businesses in MarketMaker because food buyers of all types access our database to find products and services to meet their specific needs. Through MarketMaker, producers can reach more buyers and more efficiently form profitable business alliances.

How do you search for your business profile in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Click Search and type the name of your business in the space under Search MarketMaker.

How do you update your business profile in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Click Register and then click UPDATE YOUR PROFILE. Type your email address and password in the spaces under Account Login. Be prepared to enter updated information (and pictures) about your business.

MarketMaker Training Workshops
This training workshop is available upon request by a group of 6-12 producers, extension agents, state regulatory agencies staff, and teachers. Each workshop will best fit the needs of the participants. Email Dr. Ben Posadas for details at ben.posadas@msstate.edu.

How do you search for local food businesses in Mississippi MarketMaker?
Click Search and type a keyword in the space under Search MarketMaker.

What is the Market Research tool of MarketMaker?
The MarketMaker research tool is an interactive mapping resource for identifying target markets, developing customized census profiles, and mapping food related businesses over demographic maps.

Where do you find the Market Research tool in MarketMaker?
Look for the Market Research section in MarketMaker and click Research your market now or Use previous version.