Way back in your college days in Boston, there was an amazing little fish market on Hanover Street, three blocks from your apartment. You never knew how much you could love eating seafood until your girlfriend started making easy fish recipes with fish from this place. The simple recipes eventually became more ambitious and the variety of seafood more diverse. After the two of you (now married) moved to a small town near Lincoln Nebraska, the nightlife and Red Sox games at Fenway weren’t the only things you missed; You missed the seafood. There are a couple of great grocery stores near you, more if you drive directly into Lincoln of course, and they all have a selection of seafood, but you have yet to find anything remotely similar to that little place on Hanover Street. The selection where you live is poor and the fish out there just doesn’t compare. Your neighbor down the street grew up in Rockport and says it’s coolness plain and simple. When it comes to seafood, freshness is everything. He confessed to you the other day that when he wants fresh seafood these days he uses an online seafood store he discovered.
## I didn’t know you could buy fish online. It sounds crazy to me. Is it really safe?
It’s not just safe, it’s a driving business. With the internet, the sophistication of e-commerce these days, and the use of courier services, you can get great prices on a wide selection of seafood and have it delivered right to your door. Could not been more easy.
## How cool is it? I mean, getting fish in the mail makes me nervous.
Well, obviously, when you buy fish online it is not sent by regular mail; shipped via a courier service such as FedEx or UPS. Your order is specially packed and shipped to you via overnight service. In terms of freshness, if you find a good spot, you can be sure of getting fish three times fresher than just about any grocery store, and probably fresher than most seafood stores.
## I don’t understand, how is it possible for a piece of fish from FedExed to be fresher than the fish in most fish markets?
When considering online seafood sites, it’s all about the retail chain. How many people actually handle the fish between the time it leaves the sea and the time it lands on your plate? A good online seafood store can bypass many middlemen. Currently, with some sites, you can have your order packaged on the ship and shipped to you the next day. Many fish markets will have intermediaries and brokers between them and the ocean.
## And the selection is good?
The selection is going to have seasonal aspects, of course, but yeah, it’s really good. All types of fish and shellfish are available. Anything from sushi quality tuna to mussels to live Alaskan king crabs. When was the last time you saw all that in a seafood restaurant?
If you really miss good seafood and want to treat yourself, why not go online and google ‘Online Seafood Store’ or ‘Buy Fish Online’ and see what comes up? Just make sure you choose a site that ships to you directly from the ship rather than from a warehouse somewhere. It’s going to be like having that little store on Hanover Street delivering right to your door.