The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources concerns itself with a wide variety of coastal issues including wetlands permitting, coastal preserves management, derelict vessels, and boat and water safety.

However, fisheries management takes priority as one of the main responsibilities of the agency. The agency sets catch limits on saltwater fish, regulates seasons and catches for shrimp and oysters, observes the effects of invasive species, and monitors the health of coastal waters in order to ensure the safety of the seafood available to the public.

A cooperative effort between the NASA Applied Sciences Directorate, the Naval Research Lab (NRL) at Stennis Space Center, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gulf of Mexico Program, NOAA's National Ocean Services, NOAA's Coastal Services Center, and NOAA's National Coastal Data Development Center aids these management issues. These entities have worked together with MDMR to provide satellite imagery products and model outputs to observe and forecast ocean temperatures, currents, and winds. An Internet Mapping Service (IMS) presents this information.

MDMR also works as part of another cooperative effort, the Gulf of Mexico Marine Debris Project. NOAA's Marine Debris Program, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration, and many other participants have developed a public outreach tool that includes marine debris mapping in the Gulf Coast areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. These maps offer updates to the progress in the on-going effort to clean these areas and remove debris. The safety of boaters, commercial fishermen, and all who enjoy recreational activities in coastal Mississippi waters make this mapping an important effort.