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Local 130 Seafood opened 10 a.m. Friday at 1305 Memorial Drive.

Also home of the recently opened Shape Shop boutique fitness, Parkemoor high end furniture, and soon to open home base for Booskerdoo Coffee & Bakery, the newly redeveloped 20,507 square foot shopping center is part of the city’s Urban Enterprise Zone.

Founded by CEO Eric Morris, the seafood market offers fresh caught seafood on a daily basis.

“Anyone can open a market and sell Swai fillet and make money,” said Morris, a city resident. “We’re supporting local fisherman. We’re trying to source locally and give the fish back to the community.”

Morris and his team visit the docks every single day in order to buy the fish directly off the boats, he said.

“All the fish you see in this counter was cut today,” Morris said. “With the exception of the Arctic Char which is MSC certified so it is sustainable, we can tell you where every piece of fish was caught, who caught it, how it was caught, and from which fishing vessel it was caught off of,” Morris said.

Marine Stewardship Council [MSC] is an independent nonprofit that sets sustainable fishing standards.

Morris, who started the business out off his parent’s basement 18 months ago.

“We went from a basement to a truck to retailing at farmers markets before opening the store,” Retail Manager Kat Sorensen of Belmar said.

“One fish at a time,” Morris quipped.

For this team, which includes Brand Ambassador Jill Bernardini, affordability is equally important.

“We’re able to do this because we cut out the middle man,” Morris said. “The fishermen get the best prices and so does the consumer.”

Morris said he began the business after seeing a need that was not being met.

“We live near the ocean and the one question I was getting when I moved down here was where do we get good fish around here,” he said. “The ocean is eight blocks away and we can’t find good fish.”

Morris said he decided to change that dynamic.

“With Asbury’s new growing population and the new restaurants, I just saw an opportunity,” he said. “I saw that the local community needed it.”

On opening day Sorenson gave a rundown of what was on ice:

There were whole Porgies from Point Judith, Rhode Island and whole Mackerel from Chatham, Mass.

Off of the High Voltage vessel in Point Pleasant Beach there was Yellow Fin Tuna and Big Wahoo.

“They are fishing 60 miles off the coast to catch the gulf stream’s tropical fish,” Morris said.

There were also Scallops off the Captain Travis; and Black Bass from the Point Co-op.

Hand-lined caught Fluke was available from Guy Cook, one of only four hand line permit holders in the state, who fishes out of Port Monmouth and the Navesink, Morris said.

The Mahi Mahi hailed from McClellanville S.C., and was long-line caught, and the Swordfish hailed from Barnegat Light.

Local 130 Seafood is open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., but these football fans warn that they close shop early on Sundays.

For more information, visit their website here.

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