Seafood sourcing criteria – Good Eggs

Sourcing Vision

Flavor is key: if we wouldn’t use it in our own kitchens and feed it to our own families, we assume our customers wouldn’t either.
We support local food economies: [other reasons for fish?], we aim to support local fisherpeople and food systems whenever possible. We also strive to support sustainable, well managed fisheries and the independent fisherpeople and their local processors and partners wherever those fisheries are located.
We encourage ecological sustainability: We only source seafood from sustainable fisheries, harvested with the least environmentally detrimental methods available. We take into account fishery health, target species and by-catch, catch method, and labor practices in both harvesting and processing. For aquaculture we examine every aspect of environmental impact, from where the feed comes from, to how the fish are raised and processed, to waste streams and labor practices.
We aim to inspire: whether through freshness, flavor, or a unique and exciting species, we get excited to share seafood with our customers knowing that they’ll be excited to share it with their loved ones. We feature hyper-local, absurdly fresh seafood whenever it’s available, and fill our market with the best options for both flavor and environment, fresh and frozen, year round.
Our community includes everyone in the supply chain: In an industry fraught with fraud, environmental and labor abuses, and general confusion, we hold transparency and traceability to the highest standards. We choose to work directly with independent firsher people whenever possible, and can trace most of our products to a specific vessel and captain and their local processors and partners.
We keep our customers safe and healthy: the seafood we carry is safely raised, harvested, processed and packed, and we ensure that all of our partners handle our seafood in a safe manner.
We grow partnerships that can provide us for generations to come with seafood that exceeds our standards: at the core of what we do are the relationships we develop with our producer partners, and wherever possible, we look to strengthen those relationships by supporting existing partners on a wide diversity of products, planning our growth together, working together with our partners to understand our and their place within the overall market landscape in ways that avoid a race to the bottom and ensure mutual success.

Transparency

Fresh and frozen fish and seafood producers must be fully transparent, including identifying fishery, vessel(s), and catch method. Canned fish producers must be fully transparent, including identifying fishery and catch-method. All of these guidelines apply to sushi, canned seafood, and anything that contains more than 5% fish or seafood by weight or volume.

All Seafood suppliers must meet the following criteria:

The fishery must be MSC Certified or product must be Seafood Watch Green or Yellow (with evaluation of specific product, for example: Shellfish) or Equivalent or has been evaluated on a case-by-case basis for most sustainable practices and minimal environmental impact. We will review additional or other certifications on a case-by-case basis. Resources can be found at the bottom of this document.
The seafood must be caught using the most sustainable, least environmentally damaging methods possible, taking into account bycatch, habitat destruction, and carbon footprint.
All suppliers must have proof of social accountability, through fair-trade certifications, other certifications and by acknowledging Good Eggs labor affidavit.
All shrimp are wild caught.
All shrimp are domestically harvested and processed, or are Fair Trade certified.
All value-added seafood products are free from ingredients specified on Good Eggs list of unallowable ingredients.

Handling and Processing

We do not allow the use of carbon monoxide, or any other gas for the purposes of modified atmosphere packaging or to preserve fish color, all is prohibited.

Also, the use of Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) post-processing for any purpose, including prevention of thaw drip, is prohibited.

Seafood may be vacuum packed wherein excess air is removed from the package using suction and subsequently sealed to preserve freshness.

Specific guidelines for farmed fish & seafood:

The finfish we sell is limited to freshwater species primarily domestically raised and processed.
Shellfish (other than shrimp, which are all wild caught) are Seafood watch green.

All of these guidelines apply to sushi, canned seafood, and anything that contains more than 5% fish or seafood by weight or volume.

Additional resourcing and certifications:

Marine Stewardship Council

• Wild-caught seafood

Canada Organic

• Farmed shellfish

Friend of the Sea

• Farmed mussels

Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices

• Farmed catfish (2 stars or above)

• Farmed mussels

• Farmed shrimp (2 stars or above)