MS HB1279

Amends Mississippi Code Section 49-15-64.1 to permanently close specified coastal waters to commercial and recreational shrimp trawling activities.

Designates waters north of a detailed boundary line extending from the Mississippi-Alabama state boundary westward through Bayou Casotte, Pascagoula Channel, Biloxi Bay, Deer Island, St. Louis Bay, and Pearl River as protective and staging areas for young shrimp.

Changes authority for season opening decisions and area closures from the "commission, by majority vote" to the "department."

Clarifies that future redesignation of beacon numbers by the United States Coast Guard will not alter the boundary description established in the statute.

Takes effect July 1, 2024.