Frequently Asked Questions

1) What is sustainably caught seafood?

Sustainable seafood has to do with three basic premises: harvesting to insure the long-term viability of any commercially caught type of seafood, minimizing the bycatch of other non-targeted species to avoid waste of seafood and lastly, to cause as minimal long-term impact to the environment as possible.

Pacific Harvest, as the Bay Area's leading proponent of responsible fishing practices, advocates these principles in the choice of products that we offer and promotes them through an ongoing effort to educate our customer base. We have worked with key personnel at the Monterey Bay Aquarium to insure that the seafood that we love will be offered to countless generations to come.

2) Is farmed raised seafood safe to eat?

The answer to this question is yes. Questions have arisen in the media about the chemicals and additives fed to farmed fish, escaped fish adversely affecting wild stocks, and byproducts that harm the environment. All of these issues are of key concern to the aquaculture industry and in all cases have either been totally addressed or have been on the road to great improvement. Many aquacultured seafood products are endorsed as “green light best choices” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program. The fact is aquaculture is needed to meet the growing demand for healthy, desirable fish and shellfish protein in our diets. Pacific Harvest has chosen to market items that are farm raised in ways that are safe to consume and comply with rules set forth for keeping the environment healthy as well.

3) What is organic seafood?

As of this date, there are no organic standards for seafood the United States. The USDA is developing programs however; no seafood can currently be certified as US Organic. Some seafood products are being certified organic in various European and South American countries and being marketed to American consumers as organic. The demand for American certification will certainly be addressed by our regulatory agencies in the future.

4) How does Pacific Harvest Seafoods insure the quality of the seafood that we market?

Pacific Harvest has always been ahead of the pack in the programs we maintain to insure quality seafood. Our state-of-the-art plant is sanitized twice daily and all our products are held in refrigeration that is monitored constantly under our HACCP program. We deliver our product in our own fleet of refrigerated trucks and produce and use high grade flaked ice to pack our products in.

We are committed to purchasing from seafood producers who have the same philosophy as we do concerning quality, environment and the ongoing health of our industry. We address concerns that arise in the media concerning the seafood industry in a serious and cautious way. Pacific Harvest Seafoods is committed to educating the people we contact in the industry about the environmental and health concerns related to the seafood industry.