from I Love Blue Sea - Tucson business

UA graduate Martin Reed is one lucky man but I’m sure luck has nothing to do with it. A 2007 graduate with a degree in entrepreneurship and marketing, Reed has managed to get his month-old Tucson business – I Love Blue Sea – covered by Mark Bittman in the New York Times blog. Congratulations!

The conundrum in all this is: What does Tucson have to do with a blue sea?

Reed grew up in the Bay Area. He loves seafood but was disappointed in the selection and lack of quality of seafood in the desert. As he started to research how to bring better quality seafood here, he discovered the catastrophic state of the ocean, the over fishing problem, and the disappearance of certain kinds of fish like Chilean sea bass and blue fin tuna.

He decided to change his game plan and offer only sustainable seafood plus fish that was fresh enough to serve raw or sashimi style.

His website which has a 415 area code phone number rings here in Tucson. Consumers can browse online; the selection changes daily. Reed thinks I Love Blue Sea’s selection compares to nothing else in Tucson. He removes the guesswork for those of us who want to do right by the ocean. And here’s something else on his website’s FAQ page — sustainable fish has less mercury than other fish.

Fish is shipped fresh via next day Fed Ex. There’s a $5 packaging fee if you order less than $50. Fish is shipped in eco-friendly insulated packaging (no Styrofoam). He’s working on a flat rate mailing fee to Tucson with the success of this improvement perhaps happening this weekend.

As for the name, I Love Blue Sea, Reed wanted to use the word “love” and something ocean-like and wanted the name to be easily remembered. If you say the name really fast, it sounds like I love Lucy and that made it fun.

Reed hopes that people (not just in Tucson) will support the fisheries who are trying to do the right thing and, of course, to eat more fish.

You can follow I Love Blue Sea on Facebook and Twitter too.