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H-E-B Seafood Policy

H-E-B seafood policy

Seafood Sustainability

H-E-B is committed to doing our part to help take care of the environment and ensure great seafood will be available to Texans for generations to come.

  • We work closely with our suppliers to minimize the environmental footprint of both our wild-caught and farm-raised seafood.
  • Our new partnership with Environmental Defense Fund - a leading, international non-profit conservation organization - is another step toward achieving our seafood sustainability goals.
H-E-B wild seafood comes from well-managed fisheries whose sustainability efforts are evaluated in one or more ways.
  • Whenever feasible, we source from 'catch share' fisheries that comply with catch limits, reduce by catch and promote scientific research - providing H-E-B with high-quality seafood year-round.
  • We will continue to buy seafood from fisheries that have made commitments to improve, for example through cooperative research and Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs). Such support promotes not only healthy oceans but healthy fishing communities as well.

H-E-B farmed seafood comes from U.S. and international farms that meet rigorous and improving standards of environmental performance.
  • Whenever feasible, we source from fish farms that are certified for their performance against international programs like the Global Aquaculture Alliance or Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
  • For those species still awaiting accepted standards, our suppliers are expected to be front-runners for certification once standards are finalized.
  • We do not buy farmed fish that has been genetically-modified.

H-E-B is committed to sourcing sustainable seafood from the Gulf of Mexico.
  • We work in close partnership with leading fishermen in the snapper-grouper and shrimp fisheries that use the most responsible fishing practices possible.

H-E-B supports traceability systems for all of its seafood products, and will never knowingly buy or sell any illegal, unregulated, or unreported (IUU) fish.

H-E-B will make environmental sustainability criteria an integral part of all seafood purchasing decisions.
  • We work to improve the environmental footprint of the seafood we sell, however we will remove products from our inventory when they cannot or will not meet our sustainability requirements.

H-E-B supports multiple efforts to advance and promote sustainable seafood.
  • We are an active member of the Food Marketing Institute's Sustainable Seafood Working Group.

H-E-B's employees are trained to help our customers understand and purchase sustainable seafood.
  • We will provide accurate seafood labeling information at the point of purchase and online.
  • Our sustainable seafood policy is available in both English and Spanish.

At H-E-B, we understand that sustainable seafood sourcing is an ongoing process.
  • This includes detailed information on species offered, scientific names, production methods, country of origin, and relevant sustainability criteria.
  • We will regularly identify priority seafood items that still need to make sustainability improvements and develop plans for doing so.