Seafood Sourcing and Sustainability

Our Policy
H-E-B is committed to the health, abundance, and sustainability of our oceans and marine life, while offering you the best variety and quality of seafood. Our company is deeply committed to the development of thriving fishing communities, ensuring they will play a vital role in delivering the highest-quality seafood to our customers for generations to come.

Watch our Seafood Commerical
See our Frequently Asked Questions

Careful Selection

• H-E-B is extremely selective in our sourcing of both wild-caught and farm-raised seafood. We work closely with our supplier partners to maintain rigorous standards for fishing practices and product quality.
• Although there are a number of differing positions from non-government organizations (NGOs) on whether certain fisheries are sustainable, H-E-B works diligently with leading seafood organizations, government agencies, and conservation groups committed to science-based fishery conservation and management processes designed to promote healthy fisheries.
• Responsible sourcing of seafood requires a detailed understanding of where products come from. We work closely with suppliers and fisheries to determine the level of traceability in order to ensure that no illegal, unreported or unregulated marine species knowingly enter our stores.
• We require that our suppliers of farm-raised (aquaculture) marine species adhere to the standards outlined by the Global Aquaculture Alliance or World Wildlife Fund. These suppliers must present certificates of compliance to H-E-B. For those farm-raised species still awaiting accepted standards, our suppliers are expected to be front-runners for immediate certification once standards are finalized.
• H-E-B is a Founding Supporter of the Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC), a nongovernmental body established to certify social, environmental and food safety standards at aquaculture facilities throughout the world.

Conservation Partnerships

• For more than 15 years, H-E-B has proudly partnered with Ocean Trust, an award-winning ocean conservation foundation dedicated to providing leadership and funding for coastal restoration and building marine conservation partnerships across diverse interests in the public and private sector.
• Ocean Trust offers seafood sustainability consulting based upon the National Marine Fisheries Service's 10 standards for science-based conservation and sustainable management. See the National Standards
• By lending financial support and professional expertise, H-E-B supports The Nature Conservancy of Texas as well as the Coastal Conservation Association's "Habitat Today for Fish Tomorrow."
• H-E-B is an active member of Food Marketing Institute's Seafood Sustainability Working Group and the Sustainability Executive Committee. H-E-B is working cooperatively with other retailers to create industry-wide standards and practices around seafood sourcing and customer communication. H-E-B does not currently participate in a seafood eco-labeling program because the absence of a consistent, industry-wide standard proves confusing to fisheries and customers alike.
• H-E-B is actively engaged with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, one of the world's leading organizations for promoting sustainable seafood.
• H-E-B has partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund to bring Wild Gulf™ Seafood into a growing number of stores. Gulf red snapper, grouper and tilefish under this program are responsibly caught, safety-tested and guaranteed to come from the Gulf of Mexico. Each fish comes with a tag that tells you who caught the fish, where it was caught and where it was sold. More about Gulf Wild™ Seafood

Memberships and Affiliations
We're partnering with the below groups to ensure that our seafood is responsibly sourced and helps sustain fishing communities.
Aquaculture Certification Council
Coastal Conservation Association—Texas
Environmental Defense Fund
National Fisheries Institute
Ocean Trust
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
Texas State Aquarium
The Nature Conservancy of Texas
University of Texas Marine Science Institute

Frequently Asked Questions
To learn more, see our Frequently Asked Questions.

H-E-B will gladly answer questions regarding our sustainable seafood practices. Please contact us for additional information.