Become a Sensible Seafood Partner

A fisherman casts a net out into the water from a pier

Partner with the Sensible Seafood Program to make sustainability a priority. By offering sustainable seafood menu items and practicing sustainability in your operations, you can be involved in keeping the oceans healthy and making sustainable options accessible to your customers.

Register to Become a Partner

Sustainable Action Ideas

There are a variety of sustainable actions that our Sensible Seafood partners are encouraged (but not required) to take.

  • Recycling oyster shells at the Aquarium or with our partners.

  • Offering plastic straw alternatives or minimizing customer use of plastic straws.

  • Using only reusable dinnerware for onsite dining.

  • Composting to reduce food waste. We work with NOPE Composting Co. at the Aquarium.

  • Using sustainable containers for to-go boxes, such as paper or reusable.

  • Initiating energy-efficient efforts such as using LED lighting, installing solar panels, using Energy Star certified appliances or other efforts to use less energy.

  • Recycling with TerraCycle or NexTrex , who collect and recycle single-use plastic items not accepted in conventional recycling receptacles.

  • Recycling single-use gloves. We use TerraCycle to recycle all the single-use gloves at the Aquarium.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Sensible Seafood Program recognizes the following options as sustainable seafood:

  • Local Virginian wild-caught seafood
  • Local Virginian shellfish aquaculture
  • U.S. wild-caught seafood with stable populations

Your commitment is valid for one year. After that point, you can choose to continue, increase, or withdraw your commitment and associated partnership with the program.

Yes, new program partners pay a $50 joining fee upon admittance into the program.

We understand circumstances may arise where you are no longer able to uphold the commitment you made to our program. If this is the case, please reach out to us at SensibleSeafood@VirginiaAquarium.com so we can adjust your participation status.

Have Questions?

Contact our Sensible Seafood Program Assistant for more information.

Email Sensible Seafood Program Assistant