Ocean Wise Recommended isn't just a logo. Here's what the program actually checks, who runs it, and why it appears on several Ocean2Table products.
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You'll see the Ocean Wise Recommended mark on a handful of products across Ocean2Table, our wild sockeye salmon, our halibut, our frozen shrimp meat among them. It's easy to scroll past a badge like this without knowing what it actually stands for. Here's the plain-language version.
Who runs it
Ocean Wise is a sustainable seafood program founded in 2005 by the Vancouver Aquarium. It's Canadian in origin, which is part of why it shows up so often on BC seafood specifically. The program has since grown into its own conservation organization, but the seafood recommendation side works the same way it always has: helping restaurants, retailers and suppliers identify and choose seafood from sustainable sources.
What "Recommended" means, in practice
An Ocean Wise Recommended product comes from a fishery or farming operation that Ocean Wise has assessed as sustainable, meaning the species isn't overfished, the fishing or farming method doesn't cause excessive damage to other marine life or habitat, and the population is managed responsibly enough to hold up over time. Ocean Wise works directly with partner businesses on this, checking in on sourcing and purchasing decisions rather than issuing a one-time stamp and walking away.
It's worth being precise here: Ocean Wise is a recommendation and partnership program, not a government regulator, and it's a different thing from a certification like MSC (Marine Stewardship Council), which uses a formal third-party audit process. Both exist to steer buyers toward sustainable seafood, they just work differently.
Why it matters for what you're buying
Sustainability claims in seafood get thrown around loosely enough that a lot of them don't mean much. Ocean Wise is one of the more recognized ways to cut through that in Canada specifically, if a product carries the mark, someone outside the company selling it has looked at how and where it was caught or raised.
Where you'll see it on Ocean2Table
Right now, that includes our wild sockeye salmon (whole, fillets and portions), Wild Pacific Halibut products, and our frozen shrimp meat. Not everything in our catalog carries the mark, some products simply haven't gone through the Ocean Wise assessment for that specific fishery, that doesn't mean they're unsustainable, just that this particular badge isn't the one attached to them.
Shop Ocean Wise Recommended: Wild Sockeye Salmon · Wild Pacific Halibut · Frozen Shrimp Meat
