The seafood industry is flourishing, with consumers increasingly opting for fish over meat for health reasons. Seafood has become particularly popular among fast casual customers who crave something light yet satisfying; but for restaurateurs looking for sustainable sources, finding suppliers may prove difficult.

Restaurants have turned to online seafood retailers in an effort to reduce rising food costs. These marketplaces stock an assortment of sustainable seafood, from sardines and octopus to shellfish like clams and shrimp. Many also provide recipes and educational content such as video and text so customers can gain more knowledge about what they are purchasing.

Shopping seafood online can be more convenient than visiting your local grocery store, since supermarkets may run out of freshest fish quickly or offer limited choices. Online seafood retailers source their product from fishermen directly and can deliver it in an extremely timely fashion.

However, buying seafood online does present its own set of challenges. Most importantly, it requires trust between yourself and your supplier – you want a company that is transparent with regard to product quality and is beyond basic certification from Marine Stewardship Council or Seafood Watch.

Your purchase should include accurate information, such as the name of the vessel and fisherman who caught it, its country of origin, source, certification status as organic or GMO-free and how harvested and frozen it was. You should be able to locate this data either on its product page or FAQ section of the website.

There may also be questions regarding how seafood is stored and shipped when purchased online. Most seafood arrives frozen; in some cases it may already have partially defrosted when delivered to your door. While this might cause alarm among some consumers, frozen seafood shipping is actually more eco-friendly than fresh; fresh fish must be constantly refrigerated which wastes energy; whereas frozen seafood has greater stability which allows it to be safely delivered by plane or truck directly to you door.

One final challenge to seafood wholesalers and retailers alike is price volatility. Fuel costs have skyrocketed and are threatening the profitability of many fishing fleets; wholesalers must pass along any increases they experience to their restaurant and retail customers as quickly as possible.

Though buying seafood online may present challenges, it’s often the only convenient solution when it comes to freshness. And for those who prefer in-person shopping experiences there’s an increase in restaurants offering seamless brick-and-mortar experiences and businesses offering efficient online-to-offline (O2O) processes.