Right Bite purveyors receive biannual staff training on seafood issues and marketing guidance provided by Shedd experts. We work closely with our partners to create programs that enlighten and encourage their customers to purchase sustainably. Shedd Aquarium is committed to helping local purveyors find and offer the highest quality and most environmentally friendly seafood available. Our wholesale partners know that we mean business when it comes to sustainable seafood, but they also know that we care about their business.

The Plitt Company has been a Right Bite partner for nearly seven years and its commitment to sustainability goes far beyond its ties with Shedd. Plitt is the first wholesaler in Chicago to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody certification. Plitt is currently working with the Ocean Conservancy to encourage customer involvement in ocean issues including improving Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper management. Plitt supports direct-source relationships and has developed strong partnerships with small fishing families and cooperatives within the Alaska salmon and halibut fisheries. Conducting direct business with Plitt helps these families and the co-ops secure strong prices for their products, allowing them to maintain their traditional lifestyles. Currently Plitt is working to build a market for Yukon River salmon, the only fair-trade fishery in the world. Locally, Plitt organizes and sponsors regular field trips to Rushing Waters Trout Farm for chefs and purveyors who are interested in learning more about this sustainable midwestern product.

In 2007, Fortune Fish Company launched the Sustainability Initiative in partnership with the Shedd. The goal of the initiative is to increase the knowledge and sales of lesser-known sustainable seafood products while contributing to conservation organizations. Fortune Fish Company celebrates a sustainable seafood choice every two months and for every pound of fish sold, Fortune donates a portion of the profit to partner organizations dedicated to the health and supply of our seafood resources. According to Fortune's CEO and president, Sean O'Scannlain, “At Fortune Fish Company, we find it our responsibility to provide, promote and market environmentally friendly wild fisheries and aquaculture.”

Shedd is proud to announce the first-ever Right Bite grocery store partner: Peapod. Peapod LLC, the country’s leading Internet grocer, kicked off the new partnership by including a Shedd Right Bite wallet card and brochure with every Chicago-area delivery for two weeks, reaching 20,000 households. The highlight of the new partnership is the seafood section of the Peapod Web site, where a virtual "aisle" carries Shedd-approved seafood. When shoppers click on this link, they are taken to a page with products vetted by the Right Bite team. Peapod has not only been aggressively pursuing new products that receive the "thumbs-up" from Right Bite, they have also permanently removed red snapper from their offerings due global concerns over the species' populations.

The Right Bite team was thrilled to receive a call from Seafood Merchants this spring. The seafood purveyor had been hearing concerns about seafood sustainability from their customers so they contacted Shedd to learn what they could do to help. Within weeks of our connection, Seafood Merchants began the process to become a chain-of-custody holder for Marine Stewardship Council-certified seafood — fantastic news for the availability of these sustainable products in our regional market. The Right Bite team also quickly realized that Seafood Merchants founders Bonnie and Roy Axelson are as highly regarded as they are well known within the Chicago seafood industry. Nearly every time we mention our work with Seafood Merchants, we hear the response: "Oh! Bonnie and Roy! They're so great!" And we concur. Welcome to the Right Bite family, Seafood Merchants.

E-mail us at rightbite@sheddaquarium.org for more information about our Right Bite purveyors program.