Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum

The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum, established in 1986, serves to preserve and interpret the maritime history and heritage of Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. This is achieved through a variety of exhibits that cover topics such as shrimping, oystering, recreational fishing, wetlands, managing marine resources, charter boats, marine blacksmithing, wooden boat building, net-making, catboats/Biloxi skiff, shrimp peeling machine and numerous historic photographs and objects.

Annual Programs at the Museum

The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum sponsors two annual programs: the Sea and Sail Adventure Camp and the Billy Creel Memorial Wooden Boat Show. The Sea and Sail Adventure Camp offers children aged 8–13 a hands-on experience of the history and heritage of the Mississippi Gulf Coast through sailing trips, fishing, maritime crafts, and seafood industry field trips. The Billy Creel Memorial Wooden Boat Show presents historic, antique, classic, and contemporary wooden boats at the largest gathering of watercraft on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Historic Schooners at the Museum

The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum has recaptured a piece of history with their two famous schooners, the "Glenn L. Swetman" and the "Mike Sekul". These authentic replicas of Biloxi oyster schooners, known as "White Winged Queens", once sailed the Coast from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. The introduction of marine engines and changes in oyster harvesting laws led to the disappearance of these beautiful crafts. The Schooner Pier Complex, completed in June 2006, provides a home for these two replicas and includes three pavilions, a storage area for schooner parts, handicapped accessible rest room facilities, a second story observation deck, a marine pump out station, and an area for a future gift shop and office area for schooner business.