Oceana has released the results of a new seafood fraud investigation, finding that one in every five fish tested was mislabeled. Oceana collected more than 400 samples from over 250 locations in 24 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. One out of every three establishments visited sold mislabeled seafood, and seafood was more frequently mislabeled at restaurants (26 percent) and smaller markets (24 percent) than at larger chain grocery stores (12 percent). Of the species tested, sea bass and snapper had the highest rates of mislabeling.
Last year, the federal government required traceability for seafood at risk of illegal fishing and seafood fraud. The Seafood Import Monitoring Program currently only applies to 13 types of imported fish and only traces them from the boat to the U.S. border. Between March and August 2018, Oceana tested popular seafood not covered by this program.
