Flying Fish’s Commitment to Sustainability

Save Our Wild Salmon

Save Our wild Salmon is a diverse, nationwide coalition working together to restore wild salmon and steelhead to the rivers, streams and marine waters of the Pacific Northwest for the benefit of our region's ecology, economy and culture. Flying Fish supports SOS and its commitment to the Snake River and Columbia River Basin.

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Surfrider Ocean-Friendly Restaurant

Surfrider fights for protection of the ocean, plastic reduction, clean water, beach access, coast & climate — and their ocean-friendly certification ensures they have partners in restaurants to help their mission. And Flying Fish is proudly an Ocean-Friendly Restaurant.

Our Sustainability Practices

Rice Bran, not Canola Oil

Rice bran is a byproduct of rice milling and is usually used as animal feed or discarded as waste. Like canola and olive oils, rice bran oil contains high proportions of unsaturated to saturated fat. But unlike canola oil, rice bran oil is not a GMO, and unlike extra virgin olive oil, it is better suited for high-temperature applications—like deep-frying our fish and chips.

Pollination is Key

Lyf is an avid apiculturist and keeps a hive of pollinating honey bees atop the Flying Fish Restaurant and Market building. Not only do these ladies help the gardens of our neighbors, they also find a variety of flowers next to their hive, helping us grow a small crop of tomatoes, crookneck squash, bush beans, and zucchini (which sometimes find their way downstairs to feature in seasonal, limited offerings from the kitchen).

Renewable Power Sources

The restaurant building at 30th and Burnside is enrolled in the Pacific Power Blue Sky Program which helps create local jobs, lift communities, and supports 100% Pacific Northwest renewable resources from Oregon, Washington and Idaho, including about 87% wind, 2% biomass, 10% solar and 1% geothermal.

Fresh Has a Footprint

A carbon footprint, that is. We recognize that rapid transit racks up a substantial carbon footprint and our business decisions are informed by reducing the global impact of eating fresh. We source our products from as close as we possibly can, promote relationships with farmers striving to reduce their own carbon footprint, and purchase over $10k of carbon offset credits each year.

Respect for Industry Leaders

We take seriously the recommendations published by respected organizations in the aquaculture world. We use the following sources of sustainability rankings and resources to help inform our decisions on which products and species to carry:
Monterey Bay Seafood Watch, Marine Stewardship Council, FishWise, Global Aquaculture Alliance, and Fair Trade USA.

Fresh-smoked. In-house.

The Gildersleeve family harbors a terrible secret… A terribly delicious secret, that is. Lyf learned from his father, who learned from painful trial and error, the most delicious way to smoke and preserve all manner of seafood and land-food. This recipe and meticulous process, inherited from his father and modified for our customers’ sophisticated palette, informs all the smoking and preserving that we do here, in-house, at Flying Fish Co.

Contribution to the Community

Partnering for Marine Conservation and Sustainability

Lyf serves with Marine Fish Conservation Network on their national policy board for fisheries policy. This work includes visits to D.C. to lobby sustainability for our ocean and environmental conservation measures. He is also a co-founder of Shuck Portland, a non-profit week-long event series in February raising money for oyster restoration projects on the Oregon coast.