one-third of fish is mislabeled

Oceana, an international ocean advocacy group, has released a report on national seafood fraud , and the results are disconcerting. The report, which is one ofthe largest on seafood fraud to date, found that onethird of fish was mislabeled. Oceana performed DNA testing from 2010 to 2012 on 1,215 fish samples from 674 retail outlets in 21 states. In this study, Oceana found seafood fraud everywhere it tested, with rates hitting as high as 52 percent in Southern California. Here are the full results:

The United States is the second largest seafood-consuming country worldwide (China is number one), and more than 90 percent of the seafood consumed is imported. Less than 1 percent is tested specifically for fraud
Red snapper and tuna had the highest mislabeling rate across the U.S., at 87 and 59 percent, respectively. Out of the 46 fish types tested, 27 were found to be mislabeled (59 percent). Only seven of the 120 red snapper samples were actually red snapper.See more results here:

 

Oceana The report found that sushi restaurants have the worst level of mislabeling, at a staggering 74 percent. Thirty-eight percent of seafood at non-sushi restaurants was mislabeled and 18 percent at grocery stores. “Some of the fish substitutions we found are just disturbing,” said Dr. Kimberly Warner, report author and senior scientist at Oceana, in a press release emailed to The Huffington Post. “Apart from being cheated, many consumers are being denied the right to choose fish wisely based on health or conservation concerns.” For example, 84 percent of the white tuna samples were actually escolar, a species that is known to cause digestive issues for certain individuals. Oceana also found that overfished and vulnerable species were substituted for what are commonly known as more sustainable choices. Atlantic halibut was sold as Pacific halibut, and speckled hind sold as red grouper.