Fresh, frozen or canned, sourcing sustainable seafood means keeping an eye on the details.
We asked four retailers: How does your store stock sustainable seafood?
Eli Penberthy, public affairs specialist at PCC Natural Markets in Seattle:
We follow Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guidelines and do not carry any red-listed items in our fresh, frozen and canned seafood and fresh sushi cases. We also work closely with trusted vendors who ensure that the seafood varieties they supply come from sustainable sources.
Karen Dearing, manager of Wildly Natural Foods in Farmington, N.M.:
Everything is wild caught, and we only buy from a few companies. Orca Bay Seafoods is one of them. Everything I get from them has good packaging, is supported by Ocean Trust and is humanely caught. I also carry some Tasty Bite and Dr. Praeger’s gluten-free fish sticks and fillets. Their products are really well sourced.
Nancy Flynn, director of marketing for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage in Lakewood, Colo.
We work primarily with established natural food brands such as Henry & Lisa’s Natural Seafood, Raincoast Trading, Blue Horizon Wild and Orca Bay Seafoods. We especially look for wild-caught options and producers that follow sustainable practices. They should be concerned with overfishing, habitat damage and decreasing the amount of bycatch. All four of the brands I mentioned adhere to these practices.
Aimee Deputy, senior manager of marketing and communications for Central Market in Dallas.
We are deeply committed to the development of thriving fishing communities. Our vendors must participate in sustainability workshops and certification programs that promote sourcing safe ocean-caught and farm-raised seafood. We also work closely with leading seafood organizations, government agencies and conservation groups committed to science-based fishery conservation.
