Our Industry-Leading Quality Standards: Seafood

Our standards — the highest in the industry — set a new bar for quality. Before adding a product to our virtual shelves, we look at five key areas to determine if it’s Thrive Market Approved: Trusted Ingredients, Ethical Sourcing, Planet Positive, On a Mission, and Tasted & Tested. From restricting 1,000+ ingredients across categories to prioritizing certified organic options, we’re proud to do the heavy lifting for you. Our goal? That you trust our products for you, your family, and our planet. 

Here’s a closer look at our approach to the seafood we carry, including the fishing and farming standards we champion, the fishing practices never used for products at Thrive Market, and opportunities for you to learn more. 

Our Seafood Standards

Whether it’s farmed or wild-caught, all of the seafood we carry is certified by respected organizations that monitor things like overfishing — so you can feel certain you’re purchasing only the highest-quality, most environmentally conscious salmon, shrimp, tuna, and other seafood. Our farmed seafood is BAP or ASC certified, ensuring responsible practices, while our wild-caught selections are either MSC certified for sustainability or highly rated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch. Our suppliers undergo routine ethics audits and our fisheries utilize catch limits and often have independent monitoring, guaranteeing responsible fishing without the harmful effects of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs).

Here’s more about what each certification means: 

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program

When sourcing our seafood, we abide by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, a well-respected initiative that evaluates the environmental sustainability of wild-caught and farmed seafood commonly found in the U.S. marketplace. Based on assessments focusing on areas like ecosystem health and impact on fish populations, Seafood Watch assigns the following color-coded ratings: 

• Green: Seafood in this category is abundant, well-managed, and caught or farmed in ways that have minimal environmental impact.
  This is the highest-quality seafood and the option we choose first. 
• Yellow: These seafood options are a decent choice, but there are some concerns regarding how they are caught or farmed, or the health of their habitat.
  We only permit this where a green-rated option is not available.
• Red: This seafood comes from sources that are overfished, lack strong management, or are caught or farmed in ways that significantly harm other marine life or the environment.
  We do not allow this option. 

MSC Certification 

The Marine Stewardship Council Fisheries Standard certification confirms that wild-caught seafood comes from fisheries that meet strict science-based standards for healthy fish stocks, minimal environmental impact, and effective management. The blue MSC label allows you to feel sure that you’re supporting responsible fishing practices and healthy oceans.

ASC Certification

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council certification is a global standard that assures responsible and sustainable aquaculture practices. When you see the ASC certification label on your seafood, it shows you that the product is responsibly farmed and that the farm minimizes environmental and social impacts through strict, independently audited standards covering biodiversity, feed, water, disease, and labor. The ASC ecolabel assures consumers of sustainable choices.

BAP Certification 

The Best Aquaculture Practices certification is a comprehensive, third-party program focused on responsible aquaculture across the entire production chain, including hatcheries, farms, feeding, and processing. It focuses on environmental responsibility, social accountability, food safety, and animal welfare, using a star system for traceability and providing a globally recognized mark of ethical and sustainable farmed seafood.

What We Stand For: Sustainably Farmed & Wild-Caught Seafood 

It may seem nearly impossible to know that your seafood — which comes from the depths of the ocean, lakes, and streams — is sourced ethically and transparently. At Thrive Market, we partner only with trusted fisheries to promise just that: the highest-quality, 100% responsibly farmed or sustainably wild-caught seafood that’s fully traceable back to its origin. All of our seafood is non-GMO and raised without antibiotics, growth hormones, or synthetic pesticides, and our strict standards prohibit chemical preservatives and color enhancers. With certifications and standards ensuring that all of our seafood is vetted by external organizations, we’re prioritizing healthy oceans and a healthier planet. 

Wild-Caught Seafood: What It Means 

“Wild-caught” seafood refers to marine creatures that are harvested from their natural habitats, such as the ocean, lakes, and rivers, without being confined to a fish farm. At Thrive Market, we go the extra mile to source all of our wild-caught seafood from ethical fisheries that don’t practice overfishing, targeting only fish populations that are healthy and productive. In accordance with certain certifications, fisheries must also meet science-based standards for minimizing environmental impact, maintaining healthy fish stocks, and effective management.

All of our wild-caught seafood has a sourcing story that we’re proud of. Here are a few examples:

• Our Wild-Caught Shrimp is caught off the coast of Mexico with small boats, which helps to reduce bycatch (unintentionally catching other species of fish or marine animals) and minimize fuel use. It’s also Fair Trade certified, which means that the workers involved in the fishing process are paid fairly and work in safe conditions.
• Our Wild-Caught Alaskan Sockeye Salmon comes from the icy cold waters of Alaska, where the salmon naturally live. It’s also MSC certified, which ensures that the fisheries minimize their environmental impact and maintain healthy fish stocks in the area. 
• Our Wild-Caught Yellowfin Tuna is caught along the Atlantic coast and MSC certified for ethical fishing practices. Like all of our frozen seafood, it’s also frozen immediately after catching to maintain peak freshness. 

Sustainably Farmed Seafood: What It Means 

Fish farming, also known as aquaculture, refers to breeding, raising, and harvesting fish and other marine life in a controlled, contained environment rather than in their natural habitats. Farmed seafood can be a beneficial alternative to wild-caught seafood for many reasons (such as to control the water quality or help rebuild stocks of endangered fish). 

At Thrive Market, we’ve established rigorous standards for responsibly farmed seafood, ensuring a dependable, high-quality supply with full traceability, guided by the best aquaculture science, expert collaboration, and independent farm inspections. Here is one example:

• True Tides’ Sustainably Farmed Salmon Fillets come from low-density open ocean tanks along the cold, clear waters of Norway. Each salmon is nurtured in an environment that mimics natural conditions and prioritizes animal welfare. 

Better Quality Canned Seafood  

When you think of canned seafood, you may not typically think of quality, but at Thrive Market, it’s always the first thing on our minds. Our canned seafood must adhere to the same rigorous standards as the rest of our fresh and frozen seafood, offering convenience and affordability in addition to flavor and transparent sourcing. 

Here are a few examples of Thrive Market’s canned fish:  

• Our canned Atlantic Salmon is sustainably farmed in Norwegian fjords created by fresh, melted glacier water. Fish live in pens that are at least 97.5% water to avoid overcrowding, and the fishery is ASC certified, which means the salmon are raised responsibly.
• Our canned Chunk Light Tuna is sustainably sourced from the Pacific Ocean using pole and line fishing methods, minimizing bycatch and guaranteeing it to be dolphin-safe. The tuna comes only from fisheries rated “Green” or “Yellow” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, which means it comes from healthy populations and is fully traceable to the fishing vessels. 
• Our canned Sardines are harvested in the North Pacific Ocean by well-managed fisheries that target free-swimming schools of sardines and avoid the use of artificial structures known as Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). All of our sardine fisheries are rated either “Green” or “Yellow” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.

Learn More About Our Quality Standards

• Behind the Scenes With the Team That Guides Our Industry-Leading Product Standards 
• Meet Our Meat (and Seafood): Thrive Market’s Program Is Creating a Better Food Future
• Our Industry-Leading Quality Standards: Meat & Poultry
• Our Industry-Leading Quality Standards: Beauty, Bath & Body Care
• Our Industry-Leading Quality Standards: Cleaning