In a previous blog we shared how traceability is important because it proves where our fish came from. We are proud of the fact that our fish comes from clean fisheries. Check out this behind-the-scenes video showing how we keep track of which boat caught each fish and why that's important.
That is the first leg of the journey to get our fish to you in a sustainable manner. Shipping wild-caught seafood from Alaska to your door requires careful planning. Here is how we ship our seafood to minimize impact on the planet:
Our cardboard boxes and insulators are recyclable with your paper recycling.
Instead of using Styrofoam, which is petroleum-based, non-biodegradable, and takes over 500 years to decompose, we use a liner made out of recycled corrugated cardboard scraps. This liner we use is both curbside AND compostable. We really think the liner we use made out of recycled cellulose material is a no-brainer. As other insulators, like Styrofoam present problems with persistent pollution and landfill clutter because they are neither recyclable nor compostable. Other damages caused by Styrofoam are burning risks--when you burn Styroform it releases harmful chemicals like styrene and benezene. These chemicals can also leach into the ground or your food.
Our frozen seafood orders ship in increments of 5, 10, 20 pounds. We've found that shipping 10 pounds is more efficient than shipping 5 pounds in terms of materials used--insulating materials, outer box, dry ice, fuel used by carrier, etc. And 20 pounds is more efficient than shipping 10 pounds. Our prices to you, which include free shipping, reflect these efficiencies gained. You get a better price per pound when you order 10 or 20 pounds. Our 5-pound box is our smallest offering for a reason. There was a time we shipped smaller amounts, but the amount of material used per ounce of fish seemed wasteful.
Each 5-pound box in a 5, 10, or 20-pound order offers additional protection for the fish. These are sturdy boxes that my father-in-law uses for his tools, for example. These boxes are Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) certified and contain 34.9% recycled content, including 26.9% post-consumer fiber.
To preserve the quality of frozen seafood it needs to be vacuum-sealed and the best material to protect this quality is a BPA-free material made of nylon and polyethylene. We get questions on whether people can cook sous vide using these nylon-polythethylene bags. And the answer is yes. The non-technical word for nylon-polyethylene bags is plastic, which we don't feel great about because plastic does present a persistent pollution problem for our planet and oceans. But, take note that technically this plastic can be recycled and we recognize that recylcing different types of plastic is complicated and may be nearly impossible depending on where you live. There is extra work involved, but I give this plastic a gentle wash to store it and recycle it with Ridwell, a recycling service which may or may not serve areas where you live. Check with your local recycling company to see if you can recycle this sort of plastic.
Every canned salmon and canned tuna order ships in a case of 24 cans. There is an outer shipping box protecting the cans until arrival. 24 cans is a lot, but in our minds shipping any less than that increases the amount of packaging per ounce of seafood. And we've found that the customers that like our canned salmon and canned tuna REALLY like our canned fish. So, we are sticking with these larger bulk shipments. If it seems like a lot, go in on an order with friends and family. We believe you will love our canned tuna, so if you are on the fence, go ahead and get it.
