Promoting Sustainable Seafood
Central Coast Seafood is dedicated to promoting sustainable seafood through consumer education, purchasing power and creative marketing.
Through relationships with FishWiseTM, the Local Nature Conservancy and California Fisheries we are continually making great progress toward ensuring a sustainable supply of seafood for all to enjoy.
"It is our goal to not only provide our customers the freshest seafood possible with top shelf service, but also deliver a product that is produced in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner."
- Giovanni Comin, President/Owner of Central Coast Seafood
Supporting Local Nature Conservancy
Morro Bay Commercial Ground-Fish Fishery Reform
We are currently partnering with the Nature Conservancy to develop a model of fishery management at our local level. The joint effort will build a more environmentally sustainable and economically viable ground fishing industry on the Central Coast (Petrale Sole, Rex Sole, Dover Sole, Local Rock Cod, and Black Cod). The type of gear used to catch product is far less damaging to the environment as well as minimizing by-catch. This venture is the first of its kind along the Pacific Coast and we are very proud to play a leading role and be the primary Seafood distributor purchasing and processing from the participating fishermen.
Our FishWise Partnership
In addition to our work with the Nature Conservancy, and operations improvements including biodiesel delivery vehicles and reusable packaging, we partner with FishWise to improve the sustainability of our product offerings and convey important information to our customers. FishWise is a non-profit organization dedicated to guiding businesses through the complexities surrounding ocean conservation. Through our partnership, Central Coast Seafood has made substantial progress in promoting sustainable seafood by labeling offerings as Green (best choice), Yellow (good alternative), or Red (unsustainable), discontinuing the sale of most unsustainable items, and engaging with producers and consumers of farmed salmon to increase awareness and promote more responsible production. To learn more about the FishWise and Central Coast Partnership, see the Central Coast Seafood work sample and company profile on the FishWise website.
What does this Partnership mean for Central Coast Seafood customers?
Central Coast Seafood can tell you where a product was caught or farmed, how it was caught or farmed, and what sustainability color applies to the product. Furthermore, the sustainability ranking has been verified by FishWise, a third party group specializing in sustainable seafood, so you know that it is accurate. This information will allow you to make informed decisions based on the sustainability of the products you purchase and better market those products to your customers.
What Do the Colors Mean?
The color ranking system was created by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program. Green indicates a ‘best choice’, yellow a ‘good alternative’, and red an ‘unsustainable’ species. For wild fish, the color rankings are based on scientific research into the life history, abundance, bycatch, habitat impacts, and management of fisheries. For farmed fish, the ranking is based on their diet, the risk of escapes and disease transfer to the wild, habitat impacts, and management of the operations.
Contaminants:
Central Coast Seafood can provide you with contaminant information for your seafood upon request. FishWise supplies Central Coast Seafood with up-to date information on mercury and PCBs that can be passed on to your clients should they have concerns over contaminants in seafood.
California Fisheries Fund (CFF) Loan Recipient
We are fortunate to have the CFF, a project of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), providing support and resources so we can continue to increase consumer awareness on sustainable seafood and transition our customers to low impact environmental products.
Learn about our fishermen partners in Morro Bay and how our business philosophy collaborate.
Fresh Seafood Market Updates
Published Weekly
We post a Fresh Seafood Market Update every Monday. This provides an understanding of the broad selection of product we offer and it also gives the ratings provided by FishWise and/or Monterey Bay Seafood Watch. This is helpful to our customers so they can make the appropriate purchases for their sustainable seafood efforts.