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Sustainability

 

A Family Tradition

We are not a marketing firm that is reselling fish through a slick website. Santa Monica Seafood’s owners have been catching and selling fish for generations. It’s why their fishermen forefathers moved to Southern California: in order to continue the family’s reliance on fishing to feed their families. Thus, if anyone comprehends the need to ensure the long-term viability of seafood resources, it’s this company.

Our procurement staff travels around the world investigating each supplier’s harvesting techniques. This is part and parcel of our on-going efforts to ensure the seafood we supply our customers is strictly purchased from vendors who are not only reputable but also committed to seafood sustainability through best practices. Prioritizing conservation efforts and responsible fishing practices is not just the right thing to do. It assures the consistent flow of delicious seafood to our customers far into the future.

However, our commitment to sustainability goes much further. We strive to educate our customers in order to increase community understanding of our environmental responsibility and be an agent of change in the seafood industry.

  • We were the first seafood distributor to enter into a formal partnership with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program, working with them to apply their rankings to our inventory. We are actively participating in helping develop their research prioritization and scope of assessments and work closely with them on events and educational opportunities.
  • We created the first and only Responsible Sourcing Vendor Program wherein we apply a percentage of our annual seafood purchases toward financially supporting fishery, food safety, and education programs around the world and toward qualifying and verifying suppliers who share our commitment to food safety, supply integrity, and sustainable practices.

Sustainability Statement

Santa Monica Seafood Dock Direct sources all our seafood according to the following guidelines:

  • We are committed to staying informed about all issues that impact the sustainability of our industry. We work closely with our suppliers, farmers and fishermen, scientists, policymakers, and other industry experts.
  • We ensure that we do not purchase seafood that is illegally-caught, and we comply fully with Country of Origin labeling requirements.
  • We operate with as much transparency as possible and require the same of all our suppliers.
  • We focus on sourcing seafood that meets or exceeds globally-recognized standards of sustainability. We work to engage with the issues and financially support related Fishery and Aquaculture Improvement Projects to move the industry toward a more sustainable future. We recognize and reward producers that demonstrate they are actively working to improve. Our responsible sourcing/vendor partnership program (RSVP) and our involvement with Sea Pact demonstrate our commitment to improving the sustainability of the seafood industry.
  • We maintain current ISO14001: 2004 certification, which recognizes that standards throughout our entire operation help continually reduce our environmental impact. We are required to make measurable improvements in areas like water use, energy use, recycling, and fuel efficiency.
  • We are focused on the continual education and training of our staff, customers, and colleagues.