In response to 2020 continuing to parade its seemingly infinite rage, you might be thinking, “Welp, if I have to stay inside for the rest of my already diminished life, I might as well order myself a large batch of succulent seafood.” Indeed, a taste of the sea may provide a momentary reprieve from the nightmare known as 2020.
Nonetheless, buying seafood online can feel kinda wrong — fish is already sketchy before it traverses America in the back of an 18-wheeler. But in reality, having seafood shipped directly to your home means it spends less time deteriorating in a supermarket, which is especially true if you live far from fished waters. Therefore, unless you live near a reliable seafood market — one near the actual sea — ordering seafood online is likely your best option. The question is, from where?
Come along, sailor, as we navigate the sea of online seafood sellers.
For All You Salmon Freaks
If salmon makes your heart feel happy, the Wild Alaskan Company, which specializes in wild, sustainably-caught seafood from fisheries in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, may be your new best friend. They provide monthly subscriptions, and you can choose from salmon-only boxes, whitefish boxes or a combination for about $130 a month. As an added bonus, the packaging they use is almost entirely eco-friendly, and you can compost the insulation they use to keep your seafood fresh during delivery in your garden or dissolve it in your sink, which is pretty sweet.
For All You Luxurious Lobster Heads
As the name suggests, Lobster Anywhere specializes in shipping out Maine lobster, caught by independent lobstermen, from coast to coast. They also offer some other crustaceans, but their main draws are frozen lobster tails and whole live freaking lobsters, which are available for next-day shipping. According to their website, “Live lobsters are packed in seawater soaked newspaper or rock seaweed (when available) in our reusable Styrofoam cooler with ice cold gel packs before being shipped.” Note: They only sell hard-shelled lobsters, which are more expensive than their soft-shelled brethren, but are also considered to be the best of the best. In other words, you should expect to pay a premium to have these lobsters — or any lobsters, really — delivered to your home.
For All You Sustainability Dudes
If you prize transparency, Sea to Table provides an assortment of seafood for delivery, all of which is caught, landed and processed in America — in fact, every pack of seafood they ship features a label that notes exactly where it came from, down to the ship that landed it. They offer an assortment of subscription packages, or you can place a one-time order to be delivered within three days. As far as pricing goes, Sea to Table is slightly cheaper than the other seafood delivery services so far.
Another good, sustainable option is Sitka Salmon Shares, which provides salmon and other fish from Southeast Alaska and operates sort of like a community-supported agriculture organization: When you enroll, you purchase a “share” of the harvest, which means you essentially receive a piece of whatever their fishermen catch during any given month (you can check out their common catches here). The fish is priced between $18 and $28 per pound, depending on which type of share you choose.
For All You Sushi Nerds
If you plan on whipping up some sushi at home, the Honolulu Fish Company has a solid reputation for delivering sushi-grade, hook-caught seafood. As such, you can expect to pay a premium, but hey, would you want to make sushi from cheap fish, anyway?
For All You Wide Selection Bros
Sizzlefish has one of the absolute largest selections of fish you can order online, ranging from salmon to grouper to shellfish to calamari and much, much more. They seem to be slightly less transparent than many of the companies mentioned above — some of their seafood is actually farm-caught, if that matters to you — but they certainly provide competitive prices.
Hope that helps! And more importantly, I hope that seafood really does make you feel better, because 2020 is a fucking asshole.
Ian Lecklitner
Ian Lecklitner is a staff writer at MEL Magazine. He mostly writes about everyone's favorite things: Sex, drugs and food.
