Skip to main content

Seafood and Aquatic Life Group


What We Do

The mission of the Seafood and Aquatic Life Unit is to protect consumers from contaminants, disease or other health hazards transmissible or found in fish and shellfish. We perform the following functions to this end:

  • Certification of Molluscan Shellfish Shippers
  • Licensing of Crab Meat Processors
  • Approval of Imported Processed Crab Meat
  • Fish Consumption Advisories and Bans for Public Waters
  • Designation of Shellfish Harvesting Areas

Other Resources

Local and county health departments are typically the first source of information for licensing and certification of seafood related activities within their jurisdictions. We recommend contacting these entities before contacting the DSHS Foods Unit or Retail Food Establishments Unit (listed below). When a county or municipality does not have a health department, the Texas Department of State Health Services has jurisdiction over these areas.

The DSHS Foods Unit is responsible for licensing of seafood wholesalers, seafood repackaging or relabeling, seafood processing (other than crab meat), and packaged food intended for customer self-service.

The DSHS Retail Food Establishments Unit is responsible for permitting of restaurants, retail food stores, mobile food vendors, bed and breakfasts, catered food, vending machines, take out services, and food delivery services.


Email Updates

Sign up to receive email updates about advisories, bans, and certification changes to the Seafood and Aquatic Life Program rules. This feature will serve as a tool to increase communication with license holders regarding new information added to the website.

sign up for email updates


Contact Information

Email: Seafood and Aquatic Life Program
Phone: (512) 834-6757
Fax: (512) 834-6762

Mailing addresses may be found on the contact page.