All restaurants participating in the Virginia Aquarium Sensible Seafood™ program must serve or sell at least one seafood item form the program's "Best Choice" list and refrain from serving any items from the program's "Avoid" list. The Sensible Seafood program works primarily with the Seafood Watch program as their research partner. The program also has an advisory panel with experts from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Virginia Sea Grant, Old Dominion University, and the Virginia Marine Products Board. The panel meets annually to discuss new information pertaining to seafood sources and the Sensible Seafood pocket guide is revised accordingly. The pocket guide is the core document used on making sustainabilty recommendations to both restaurant partners and consumers.
Restaurant partners pay an annual registration fee and have the opportunity to participate in exclusive Sensible Seafood events. The primary event opportunity hosted by the Virginia Aquarium is the annual Sensible Seafood™ Fest every May with food from Sensible Seafood™ restaurant partners, cooking demonstrations by award-winning chefs, and education about regional efforts focused on restoration, sustainability, and environmental stewardship including the annual Sensible Seafood Fest in May. Restaurants that are interested in joining can email the program directly.