All products in our seafood case are as sustainable and close to the source as possible. That’s part of our commitment to our local communities and to our bay waters. Rest assured that we always offer you seafood that’s fished or farmed in ways that are best for our oceans and waterways.

Navigating seafood choices is complicated, and only gets more so every day. It’s important that we at New Leaf Community Markets do the leg-work. We go beyond just country of origin on our case signage and do our best to tell you the state or river system the catch is from, and if we worked with a direct partner to bring the freshest product to you.

Local Sourcing

We value our partnership with Santa Cruz-based Ocean2Table, a community-supported fishery that sources from over 40 local fishers. As one of our newest direct partners, all of their seafood comes from waters within 100 miles of the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay. Our mission is to keep our seafood offerings as local and ocean-friendly as possible. They help us do that.

Partnership with FishWise

A longtime advocate for sustainable seafood, New Leaf Community Markets was the first grocer to collaborate with FishWise and Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program in 2002. We helped them to develop and launch the program’s green, yellow and red color ratings. This system helps customers make informed decisions on the sustainability of the seafood they purchase. They now work with 4,000-plus stores!

We believe in the importance of striving to build a responsible, ethical and environmentally-sound seafood supply chain. We’re grateful for the help from and alignment with such forward-thinking, dedicated, big picture organizations and programs.

New Leaf Community Markets prioritizes fisheries and aquaculture operations that are rated as Green-Best Choice, Yellow-Good Alternative, or are from eco-certified sources recognized by Seafood Watch. Learn more at Monterey Bay Aquarium, Seafood Watch and FishWise.

Color-Coded Signage

We do the research and are constantly reassessing our seafood sourcing while educating ourselves. We also keep things transparent so you can make informed choices at our seafood case.

Green = Best Choice

These fish are caught or farmed in an ocean-friendly manner, with minimal impact on the ecosystem.

Yellow = Good Alternative

These fish are from fisheries or farms with good qualities but that pose some environmental concerns.

Red = Not an Option

We don’t sell red-coded unsustainable choices at New Leaf Community Markets — never ever. We wouldn’t do that to you or our planet.