Online Seafood Markets for Web-Savvy Home Chefs
Buy Fresh Fish, Lobster, Oysters and More on the Internet
Sep 23, 2009
Buying fresh seafood is easier for the home chef living near the coast, but that doesn’t mean landlocked fish lovers need to sacrifice freshness. There are many online seafood companies that sell fresh fish, shrimp, lobster, oysters, and other seafood to retail customers almost anywhere.
Online Fresh Seafood
Whether dealing with seafood purchased online or at the local fish market, the home chef should be primarily concerned with freshness. No amount of expertise with cooking methods or sauces will rescue a piece of fish that is not fresh. The chef contemplating an online seafood purchase will want to know:
- Where the seafood was caught or collected.
- How it was kept before shipping and during shipping to the online seafood company.
- In what manner it will ship to the consumer.
Where Online Retail Seafood Originates
The best online seafood companies will tell the consumer how they source their seafood. Many companies have their own direct relationships with individual fishermen, co-ops and fish farms, and these are the online seafood companies that are often best. Some companies use these relationships as a marketing tool on their websites, and this is usually a good sign.
The point-of-origin of the seafood is also important when it comes to supporting sustainable seafood. It may also be an issue where freshness is concerned, although the manner in which the fish was stored and shipped is generally more important than where it was caught. Toward this end, avoiding freeze-thaw cycles is paramount.
Online Seafood Fraud
Fraudulent sales have been a problem in the online seafood business. If a customer is paying for wild-caught salmon for a wild-caught salmon recipe, for example, he or she should not receive farmed salmon. The online seafood companies that purchase whole fish and cut it themselves are generally more immune to fraudulent wholesale purchases that may then be knowingly or unknowingly passed on to the consumer.
Fresh Seafood Delivered
With the efficiency of modern overnight shipping, where the chef is located relative to where the fish was caught does not make a huge difference in many cases. Shipping may, however, be less expensive when a chef on the east coast of North America buys online seafood from a company based on the east coast.
In some cases, it may make sense to buy from an online seafood company closest to the fish’s point-of-origin. For example, why pay for a New York-based online seafood company to ship a Pacific halibut to the company’s facility in New York only for the retail company to then ship it again to a Connecticut-based consumer?
Shipping Fresh Seafood
Regardless of where the online seafood company is based, most will ship overnight. The majority use FedEx Next Day Air. The seafood should be packaged in a plastic liner bag and shipped in a strong Styrofoam container with frozen gel packs or ice.
Most companies have a claims policy. Following the claims policy to the letter is the consumer’s only real recourse if the seafood does not arrive as promised.
Tips and Tricks for Buying Seafood Online
- Research Promotions. Because shipping costs can make or break a sale, online seafood companies frequently offer shipping specials and promotions. The chef who does his or her research is often rewarded with the best deal. Signing up for multiple companies’ email newsletters is a great way to be informed of upcoming shipping promotions.
- Place Group Orders. Most online seafood companies have a dollar figure that will qualify the order for free shipping, so a good tip is to organize a group order with one’s neighbors so the order qualifies for free shipping.
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