Hy-Vee Inc. said that 100 percent of its national brand frozen seafood is now responsibly sourced in compliance with its seafood procurement policy, according to a press release. This means that Hy-Vee is the first Midwest retailer to guarantee that 100 percent of the fresh and frozen seafood sold in its 245 stores comes from environmentally responsible sources.

It builds on Hy-Vee’s announcement in December 2015 that 100 percent of its private label fresh and frozen seafood is responsibly sourced.

Hy-Vee’s seafood procurement policy was created with guidance from Hy-Vee’s partner FishWise, a nonprofit sustainable seafood consultancy that partnered with the retailer in 2011. The policy defines responsible seafood as coming from sources that are rated green or yellow by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s seafood watch program, certified to an environmental standard equivalent to these ratings, or sourced from credible, time-bound improvement projects. Since the policy’s inception in 2012, Hy-Vee has worked to transition more than 5 million pounds of seafood to environmentally responsible sources.

“At Hy-Vee, we take pride in our dedication to high-quality, environmentally and socially responsible seafood, and we are thrilled to be the first Midwest retailer to make this kind of commitment,” said Brett Bremser, executive vice president of perishables at Hy-Vee. “This achievement fulfills our promise to our customers to do the right thing, and we will keep working hard with our suppliers and partners to maintain this level of excellence moving forward.”