Richard Gollott followed his great grandparents, grandparents and father’s footsteps into the seafood business. Working after school in his father’s seafood processing business, he learned about processing crabs, oysters, fish and shrimp.

Richard opened Cap’n Gollott Seafood, Inc. in 1964 with the assistance of Houston Gollott, who built his first oyster plant. After Hurricane Camille destroyed the Oak Street Plant, Richard acquired property in Lee Street and built an oyster processing plant, which distributed seafood throughout Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Florida.

By 1976, the business was having difficulty in getting local labor for shucking the oysters. An oyster dealer and friend from New Orleans mentioned that the Vietnamese immigrants had come to New Orleans and learned to open oysters. New Orleans Oyster House was unable to keep them busy as they were opening all that was necessary in five days. Stanley offered to send them to Biloxi to open their oysters on Saturdays. That Saturday, cousins Arny and Richard Gollott rented a van and drove to New Orleans, picked up the workers, and then returned them home after work. For a short time the cousins split the workers between the two processing plants. It was at about this time that Richard asked Mr. Mow Van Nguyen if he would move to Biloxi. Richard said that he would assist him with housing and other necessities. Mr. Mow indicated that he had a lot of family that would like to join him. Richard helped to get them established with the housing authority.

Cap’n Gollott grew to be one of the largest oyster processing companies on the Gulf Coast, opening as many as 849 gallons of oysters in a single day.

Richard Gollott was featured in the September 1981 edition on National Geographic magazine for his role in bringing the first Vietnamese family to Mississippi to work in the seafood industry. To this day he is highly regarded and appreciated in the Vietnamese community for his assistance with the industry and in other matters, as well. Richard has always been an advocate for the fair treatment of the Vietnamese fisherman and their families.

In 1984, the Vietnamese people began buying and building shrimp boats. Richard rented a dock and began unloading shrimp. In order to remain in the shrimp business, an ice plant was required. Richard approached his cousins, Tommy, Tyrone and Gary Gollott about partnering with them, Gollott’s Oil Dock & Ice House was formed and continues today, purchasing shrimp from boats and providing them with fuel and ice. The next year, Sherman Canaan partnered with the cousins and Golden Gulf Packing Co. was established. Golden Gulf continues selling a wide variety of shrimp products.

Richard was one of the founding members of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, an organization that strives to assist both shrimpers and processors with issues facing the industry. The Alliance brought one of the largest trade actions ever filed, successfully.

Richard was appointed Commissioner to the Department of Marine Resources by former Governor Hayley Barbour in May, 2004 and was reappointed by Governor Phil Bryant in February, 2012.

Richard currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Shrimp Processors and the group markets and promotes Wild American Shrimp. In addition, he is a member of the Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce.

Richard Gollott was born in Biloxi Mississippi on January 15, 1944, and educated in the Biloxi Public School System. SGT. Gollott served in the Mississippi National Guard and received an honorable discharge in February of 1970. He has been married to Shirley (Tookie) Gollott for 27 years and they have three children, E. Richard Gollott, Jr., Anthony Taranto and Shelly Walker; and six grandchildren, Jacob and Grant Gollott, Nicholas Powell, and Courtney and Kyle Taranto and Caleb Walker.