Shopping for sustainable seafood can be difficult. One might find apathetic fishmongers, days-old products, or conflicting information about sustainability. This just-launched service delivers sparkling fresh sushi-grade seafood to top restaurants in San Francisco or right to your door. ILoveBlueSea.com, Founder Martin Reed shares how the business got started, and why, as well as his favorite recipe for green-lipped mussels.
In the Era of Wallet Cards
Sustainable seafood wallet cards are de rigeur for conscientious consumers. Many tools exist now from FishPhone to iPhone apps, to wallet cards for specifically for sustainable sushi. There’s even a book on that, see Fishing for Answers - Which Fish on your Dish.
Still, it can be a challenge to find good fresh seafood at your local store that appears on the “green” lists. Whether you use your Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch wallet card to select sustainable seafood, or rely on Greenpeace to help you with those choices, you can now purchase seafood worry-free. None of the 40 or so products sold through ILBS appear on the “Avoid” or “red” lists for either.
Entrepreneur Turns Problem into Opportunity Creates First Sustainable Seafood Delivery Service
Martin Reed moved from the Bay area in California, a place with abundant, good seafood to study entrepreneurship at the University of Arizona. So disappointed in what he’d found when shopping for seafood there, he turned his schooling and consulting experience into a service that answers the growing consumer demand for sustainable seafood.
With the business just two weeks old, Martin shared his take on the market and how he hopes to grow the business to be even more green.
Eat a Bengal Tiger? A Bluefin Tuna?
Reed says that “out of sight, out of mind” is not a good way to approach our selection of seafood. He’d no sooner eat a Bengal Tiger as a bluefin tuna “Just because we can’t see them (disappearing) doesn’t make it okay to eat them.” He carries only tuna that is sustainably caught.
Another popular sushi choice is hamachi or yellowtail. The site’s entry for buri is a perfect example of how I Love Blue Sea works. If you were to search on Yellowtail, you would find the following sustainable sushi alternative:
Yellowtail Jack Fillet (Buri - it’s Japanese name) plus information (just enough) telling you about this alternative being caught by pole and line in the waters of Southern California. They also provide links to further information for the eco-curious. In this case, one link takes you to the always reliable SustainableSushi.net site.
How Green is your Packaging
Any fish you buy at the seafood market has a carbon footprint. Sustainability of the seafood is the priority with this company. However, Reed sought the most environmentally defensible packaging he could find. Rather than the massive styrofoam boxes that are common in seafood delivery, ILoveBlueSea.com uses recyclable corrugated boxes stamped with their logo in water-based ink. Their packing peanuts are bio-degradable and non-toxic. They disappear in water. Did you know tape adhesive is toxic? Most is, ILoveBlueSea.com uses the most environmentally-friendly tape commercially available. Even their gel packs are different. Non-toxic and biodegradable, these can be reused or punctured and disposed of safely down the drain. The package itself is recyclable #4.
In the future, Martin hopes to reduce their carbon output by having more distribution centers which would reduce the transportation footprint. Another feature is that they pass on the heavy discounts they negotiated with FedEx directly to the consumer.
From Green Packaging to Green-Lipped Mussels
Martin shares his favorite recipe for a perfect party appetizer. In a two pound pack you get about 35-45 sustainable mussels.
- Mix Sriracha with Mayonnaise (preferably the Japanese variety) in a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio depending on how spicy you like it.
- Spoon on top of mussels and
- Broil for 5-10 minutes.
Enjoy bubbly hot, guilt-free mussels!
In just a few weeks of being open for business, ILBS has gotten rave reviews from customers who tell them they’ve often have had trouble finding sustainable seafood. Martin’s betting that even people who don’t care about sustainability will be impressed with the quality of seafood available here.
He promises, “You haven’t had seafood this fresh before!”
i love blue sea
1459 18th Street, #268
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 300-0940
Jacqueline Church - Award-winning writer, speaker, teacher on topics at the intersection of gourmet and sustainable food issues.
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