How to buy seafood at the grocery store or supermarket
A supermarket’s seafood counter with imported, local, farmed and wild seafood options
Buying locally-caught seafood when it’s in season supports Monterey Bay fishermen, keeps your dollars local, and strengthens our local food system. It’s often a more sustainable choice than farmed or imported seafood, and certainly more delicious!
At the grocery store or supermarket, you’ll find a large selection of imported, local, farmed and wild seafood.
Grocery stores order what’s available from seafood wholesalers - and what consumers are asking for. When you see salmon, shrimp or other species at a grocery store fish counter, the fish buyer may be sourcing farmed salmon from Norway, or farmed shrimp from Southeast Asia, because it’s cheap and readily available. If you don’t specify a preference for local, in-season seafood, there’s little incentive for your grocery store to buy it.
Asking questions is a great way to encourage your grocery store to source local, seasonal seafood.
A shopper at the grocery store reviews the seafood options
When you ask for and purchase locally-caught seafood during the months it’s in season, it lets the fish buyer know you prefer wild, local fish.
When you choose NOT to buy seafood that is imported or farmed, it sends an even clearer message - and grocers won’t re-order seafood if it isn’t purchased.
When fish buyers hear these questions regularly, they’re more likely to source local seafood, and label it with the origin, whether it’s wild or farmed, and who caught it.
Questions to ask at the fish counter:
• Are you offering any locally-caught seafood this week?
• Which fish is in season right now? When did it come in?
• Where does your seafood come from? Who do you buy from?
• Which seafood is wild, and which is farmed?
We’ve put together a Seasonality Guide so you know when your favorite seafood is in season.
Download + Print the guide below, and keep it in your kitchen or on refrigerator so you can quick-reference it for your grocery list.
When you go shopping, be sure to only ask for species that are in season that month.
If they don’t have it, the fish buyer at your grocery store should be able to find what you’re asking for by contacting a local seafood wholesaler.
Avoid asking for fish that’s not in season - if you do, fish buyers may buy farmed or imported species to fulfill your request.
A Guide to Seafood Seasonality in the Monterey Bay Region
Our “Ask For Local” poster - look for this where you shop!
We’re thankful to have several grocery stores in the Monterey Bay region that are committed to offering wild, local seafood when it’s available.
We’re working with local grocers and supermarkets to provide materials that educate shoppers and increase demand for local seafood.
This July, we’ll be releasing our #AskForLocal kit, which includes seasonal recipe cards, cooking tips, our seasonality chart and a poster encouraging consumers to ask for local, seasonal seafood.
Look for these items at grocery stores in the Monterey Bay region, and don’t forget to ask for locally-caught seafood!