Austin, Texas-based Whole Foods Markets announced today that it is launching a sustainability-rating program for wild-caught seafood sold in all of its 298 stores, becoming the first national retailer to provide that information to customers, courtesy of their partnership with Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The company has also stated that it is committed to ending sales of red-rated species by March 2013. Red or “avoid” ratings, as indicated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, mean the species is currently suffering from overfishing, or that current fishing methods harm other marine life or habitats.

The most recently published national list includes, among others, Atlantic and imported Pacific cod, imported shrimp and swordfish, Tilapia from Asia and certain varieties of tuna. A downloadable pocket guide to sustainability ratings can be found at the Aquarium’s website.