Here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast we have a long and storied tradition that goes back generations. It is a tradition of fishery, shrimping, and sailing. Many iconic artifacts, items, and vessels detail that history most excellently when well preserved. The preservation of this history is a large and all encompassing task but thankfully it is a task that is well suited to Executive Director Robin David of the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum of Biloxi.
“I call them treasures,” Says Robin, referring to the vast collection. “You never know when someone is going to call you or send you an e-mail and you’re going to get a new treasure to put on display for everyone to enjoy.”
Preservation is no easy task, nor is it the only task the museum undertakes. Robin is diligent about educating and emphasizing the importance of the seafood and maritime industries to the Gulf Coast youth. They even schedule charters on recreated schooners where the captain gives lessons about the old ways of tonguing and shrimping.
“A lot of the younger generation think casinos made the coast, but no. We were once the seafood capital of the world.” Robin explains. “Oysters, shrimp, crabbing, everything involved here on the coast. We like to remind people, and remind the younger generation, that’s what founded the Gulf Coast really.”
A trip to the museum is an educational voyage indeed. There are memorials to the great hurricanes that have come and gone, such as Camille and Katrina, with information detailing the ways in which these mighty storms impacted the coast and it’s industries. There also interactive Ipad based modules in which the lives of noteworthy fishermen and captains can be studied in their own words. Along with this you will also find historic boats like the Nydia, paintings of shipyards by notable local artists, as well as images and biographies of ships that last sailed long ago. For Robin, the best pieces are the ones that are personal.
