The Fish on Your Plate Might Not Be What the Label Says

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Scientists sometimes run a simple test.

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They go into the grocery stores or
fish markets, or even restaurants.

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They buy seafood just like you would
when you're at these places and

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they bring those samples back to
the lab and they test the DNA.

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What they find.

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It's often surprising.

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The fish on the label is not
always the fish in the package.

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In some cases a substitution is
harmless, but in other cases it

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hides illegal fishing, endangered
species or seafood that was caught

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in poorly regulated fisheries.

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And researchers have discovered that this
problem is more common than you realize.

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This is the How to Protect the Ocean
Podcast, your weekday Ocean news update.

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And today we're gonna be talking
about seafood fraud, how rampant

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it is and what we can do about it.

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But if you wanna stay informed about
this type of Ocean news updates,

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please hit that follow button so
you don't miss tomorrow's story.

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The key question today, how
common is seafood mislabeling?

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And it could be seafood fraud.

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Over the last 15 years, scientists
around the world have used DNA

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barcoding to test seafood products.

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DNA Barcoding allows researchers to
identify species by sequencing a

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small genetic marker and comparing
it to global reference database.

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So basically they take the filet or
whatever they buy, they do a genetic test.

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They take a sample, they run it
through like a genetic test, And

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then all of a sudden they look at
that gene sequence and they say, okay.

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Let's run it through the database doesn't
match this other species DNA sequence.

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And if it does, which species is it?

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And then they can identify which species,
where it is found around the world.

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'cause the same species, if they're
found in different parts of the world,

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might have different genetic markers.

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We could talk about that another time
'cause that's kind of a cool thing.

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But they'll compare it to those databases.

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And when researchers compare the
DNA results to the label on the

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package or the menu, they often find
mismatches, which is a little surprising.

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Multiple studies have
documented this problem.

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So in 2013, a global meta-analysis
published in the journal of PLOS

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One found that approximately one
in three seafood products, that's

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33% worldwide, were mislabeled.

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Now, whether they're done on purpose
or not, we don't really know.

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There's a lot of stuff that can
go to which we'll dive into.

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But other regional studies
have shown a similar pattern.

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For example, a 2013 study, you know, by
Oceana in the United States, tested more

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than 1200 seafood samples from 21 states
and found that 33% were mislabeled.

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In Canada as a 2019 investigation by the
University of Guelph, my alma mater, and

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Ocean Canada, which is right down the road
from me in all relative, of course, found

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that 44% of seafood samples from grocery
stores and restaurants were mislabeled.

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European studies have also
documented substitution.

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A 2018 review published in food control
reported mislabeling rates across

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Europe, ranging from 10 to more than 30%,
depending on the species and the country.

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So some examples of that

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seafood substitution, researchers
have identified many specific

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substitution patterns.

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Most of the common ones include
red snapper substitution.

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Red snapper is one of the most frequently
mislabeled fish in North America.

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Many studies have found that products
labeled as red snapper are actually

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tilapia, like freshwater fish, rockfish,
lane snapper, and vermilion snapper.

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In some studies, less than 10%
of tested samples labeled red

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snapper were the real species.

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So less than 10% were
actually the species.

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There's also the case of
escolar is sometimes sold as

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white tuna in restaurants.

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Escolar contains high levels
of indigestible wax esters.

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And eating large portions of the fish
can cause digestive problems known as

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chiari, sometimes called oily diarrhea.

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Doesn't sound like a fun time.

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Because of these health concerns,
Japan and Italy restrict the sale of

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Escolar, yet it still appears in markets
disguised as tuna in some country.

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That's pretty scary when not only do you
not know what the fish is, it could be

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something that could give you problems.

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Now you have sometimes
farm fish labeled as wild.

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DNA testing cannot always distinguish
farm versus wild fish directly.

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But investigators have found cases where
farmed Atlantic salmon was sold as wild

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Pacific salmon, which is crazy to think.

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They're very different colors.

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People here in Canada hate farmed Atlantic
salmon and if they want something like

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Wild Pacific salmon and they figure out
that they get Atlantic salmon, not great.

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So particularly in restaurants
where supply chains are hard

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to track, you get this problem.

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Wild salmon commands a higher price,
creating incentives for mislabeling.

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So if you mislabel Pacific
salmon, but it's, really atlantic

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salmon, you can charge a higher
price and make more money off it.

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So obviously some corruption there.

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It attacks the consumer, which it
makes for people not wanting to

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buy seafood, especially if they
don't know what they're buying.

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So it has a stain on the retailer or
the supermarket or the fish market or

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the seafood market that's selling it.

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It just kind of taints the whole
idea of trying to buy salmon in

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general or any kind of fish where
you know this kind of happens.

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So sometimes you get endangered
species sold as a generic names.

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So some studies have found threatened
shark species sold under vague labels like

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flake, rock salmon or just simply fish.

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That's the label.

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It's just fish.

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Talk about not enough information.

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Just fish.

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DNA testing in Europe revealed that
products labeled a rock salmon were

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sometimes actually spiny dogfish
or endangered shark species.

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If you think about again, it
causes mistrust in the

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seafood industry in general.

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Whether people are trying to do it on
purpose or not, it just causes mistrust.

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And to be honest.

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I know at one point there were people
that were trying to design like in

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hand DNA sequencers, so they can go
around and they can sequence the DNA

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of some of these fish so that they know
if they truly are that type of fish.

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But I feel like supermarkets or
seafood markets should have these DNA

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testers if they're still in existence.

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I don't know if they actually work well.

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But they should have that so they can
show the transparency that yes, this

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fish is exactly what you are buying.

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So seafood supply chains are pretty
long and complex from wherever the

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seafood's fished or taken out of the
Ocean all the way to the retailer,

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that could be a global trip.

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And so sometimes it can
get lost in translation.

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Fish may pass through multiple hands
before reaching consumers, which we

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talked about in yesterday's episode, where
Carolinian fishers were fishing and then

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the shrimp or whatever they caught would
go towards into the supply chain and they

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would never find out where they sold it.

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It would just go into these, like
secret supply chains where nobody

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would know where they were going.

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So a typical chain can include the
fishing vessels, the landing sites

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where the fishing vessels come in,
export companies, processing plants,

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importers, distributors, wholesalers
and restaurants or grocery stores.

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That's a lot.

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That's like eight different places
where they can change hands.

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And that's just the different types.

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It doesn't mean that there might
be more than one export company

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or more than one import company,
depending on where the fish is going.

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Substitution can occur at
many points in this change.

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So substitution of fish or the
mislabeling, a fish on purpose,

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which would be fraudulent.

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Filets often look very similar once
the skin and bones are removed.

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To most people, it's sometimes
it's accidental, but

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sometimes it's on purpose.

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I remember being in a restaurant with
my professors and it was a seafood

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restaurant and they brought a fish,
I forget what the name of the fish.

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They brought a fish.

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And the professors were like,
they're ichthyologist, like

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they are fish biologist.

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And they looked at, it's like,
this is not what I ordered.

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And the waiter was like, what do you mean?

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He's like, well, I ordered
haddock, but this is not haddock.

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And they're just like,
well, no, this is haddock.

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It's like, no, see the bone structure
and everything, they knew from the

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bone structure, but not many people are
that good at understanding what a filet

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looks like for what species of fish.

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So that could be a
difficult thing to look for.

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That could be a difficult thing to
identify when you're just trying to

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eat and you're not trying to think
about, Hey, I'm gonna this place.

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I wanna know if it's actually
real, the fish that I order, or

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is it something different that
could actually harm my body, or I'd

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be eating an endangered species.

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That's not why I'm eating the seafood.

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I want to eat sustainable seafood,
but sometimes you just can't do it.

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In many cases researchers believe the
substitution is economically motivated.

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So they replace a high value fish
with a cheaper species that can

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significantly increase profits.

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For example, substituting tilapia for
red snapper can multiply the margins,

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the profit margins several times.

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Why does this matter to you?

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That's the big question.

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Why does this matter to you?

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Seafood mislabeling is not just
a consumer protection issue.

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It can also hide major environmental
and governments problems.

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Mislabeling can conceal illegal fishing,
illegal, unreported, and unregulated

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fishing accounts for an estimated 20%
of global Marine catch according to the

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Food and Agriculture Association and FAO.

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If illegally caught fish enters
markets under false labels, enforcement

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becomes extremely, extremely difficult
unless, like I said, you have one

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of those portable DNA samplers.

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Then it also has observed overfished
species problem, when an endangered

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or heavily exploited species are
mislabeled, as more sustainable ones,

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consumers cannot make informed decisions.

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This undermines sustainability
certifications and

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responsible seafood program.

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So something like MSC, the
Marine Stewardship Council often

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gets criticism for certifying
specific supply chains for fish.

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But people know that these supply chains
have been found to be fraudulent in times.

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And unfortunately, it kind of
tarnishes the reputation of MSC,

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which is trying to do its best.

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It's trying to do its due diligence.

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This is a complex situation.

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It's hard to get all the data and you
have to admit when that certification

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may not have been the best and
you may have to go back on it.

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Sometimes it doesn't happen.

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I don't know why.

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I don't wanna talk ill of some of
these certification programs, but

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some people really, really dislike
it and others are like, well, they

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do their best with what they have.

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So if most of their 400 supply
chains that are certified are

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good, then we're probably okay.

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But what if we're eating some
that are not certified well?

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And so that could be a problem.

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Of course, when you're talking about
fishing and overfishing, you're

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talking about human rights abuses.

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Some fisheries are linked to forced labor
and poor working conditions also have

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been associated with seafood fraud because
like if they're gonna treat humans like

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that, they don't care about the consumer.

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Traceability gaps allow
products from these fisheries

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to enter the global market.

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So when, a lot of times just to explain
what fishery slaves are, essentially

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what happens is, people from different
countries, but a lot of 'em are from

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like Malaysia, the Philippines and other
island countries who may not known to

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be the richest countries, and a lot of
people are part of the fishing community.

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They will go on these boats with
a promise of money and good care

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for their families and so forth.

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And they will go on these boats for like
months at a time, sometimes years at a

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time, and they won't come back to shore.

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So these boats will go out and
fish as much as possible, probably

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doing illegal, unregulated, and
unreported fishing, IUU fishing.

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They go out for a long time and
then they never come back.

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So if you're sick, you don't eat
properly, you don't get treated properly.

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You're working really long
hours and people get sick.

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And there have been cases where
it's been documented where people

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are just being thrown overboard

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because they're too weak to do anything.

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Or they don't come home.

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A lot of times they can't see their
families, they can't bring the money home.

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A lot of times, they'll remove their
passports and their traveling papers

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just so they can't get off the ships when
they go into port to bring in their fish.

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And a lot of times, they're exchanging the
fish to these large ships that are on the

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Ocean, that are basically just warehouses.

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They just dump all their catch into there,
they log it, and then they go back home.

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That those ships just travel back home.

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So basically like shipping containers.

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That's what we look at when we are
looking at fisheries around the world

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like this is you get human rights abuses.

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And so when you have those
human rights abuses, you also

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don't have good traceability.

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So the seafood could be
fraudulent, probably most likely.

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And so that could be a difficult thing.

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That seafood mislabeling, that seafood
fraud in a nutshell, tomorrow we look at

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why seafood traceability is so difficult
in the first place, you'd think it'd be

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like an easy thing to solve, but it's not.

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And why tracking a fish from the Ocean
to plate remains one of the biggest

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challenges in global seafood governance.

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If you like this type of episode
where you get weekday updates on the

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Ocean news, hit that follow button so
you don't miss tomorrow's episode.

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We're gonna talk about why
seafood traceability is so

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difficult in the first place.

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But I also want you to share this
with a friend who's interested in

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seafood, wants to make the right
choices and has some, you know,

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some ethics and has some integrity.

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If you have friends like that, send
this over to them and help them

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be educated on what they can do
when it comes to choosing seafood.

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I wanna thank you for joining
me on today's episode of the How

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to Protect the Ocean Podcast.

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I'm your host, Andrew Lewin.

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Have a great day.

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We'll talk to you next time
and happy conservation.