NATCHEZ — A new Mississippi law requires that restaurants tell patrons whether they serve U.S. farm-raised catfish or foreign catfish-like products.

But the law will not affect several local restaurants, whose owners and managers say they serve only farm-raised catfish from Mississippi and Louisiana.

Jughead’s Fish Fry and More manager Clyde Fuller said the restaurant has had a sign letting customers know they serve Mississippi-raised catfish since the restaurant opened.

Fuller said he believes the law is good for the public, especially if patrons prefer to eat only catfish raised in the U.S. Fuller said he believes eating only U.S. farm-raised catfish is safer because fish farms in other countries may not be subject to the same regulations as U.S. fish farms.

“I think it’s a very good thing,” he said.

The state Legislature added language to the Mississippi Catfish Marketing Law this year that requires restaurants and food-service companies to inform consumers on the origin of imported catfish-like species they sell, such as basa, swai or tra.

State law previously only required food-service locations provide that information for catfish species.

The new law now requires restaurants, cafeterias, lunchrooms, food trucks, saloons, bars, delis and other places to add notes to their menus or post signs with catfish and catfish-like information.

The Malt Shop owner Gloria Neames said she has a sign posted letting customers know the restaurant serves farm-raised catfish from Wisner, La.

Biscuits & Blues owner Peter Trosclair said he was not aware of the new regulations for catfish passed, but Trosclair said he will putting a sign up.

“We used farm-raised from Mississippi or Louisiana anyway, but we’ll put a sign up letting people know that,” he said.

Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce Spokesman Andy Prosser said the new law clarifies the 2008 Mississippi Catfish Marketing Law.

“There was some confusion among food establishments about what fish (the labeling) was required for and how they were supposed to do it,” he said.

Prosser said some buffets labeled fish they served as “Southern fried fish,” implying that the fish was catfish. That is prohibited under the new law, he said.

Prosser agrees that consumers’ concerns that fish from foreign farms may not be as safe as U.S. farm-raised fish because they are not subject same regulations are legitimate concerns.

“I will say, too, that our restaurants here in Mississippi, a lot of them do serve U.S. farm-raised catfish,” he said.