Fish Fraud

Fish Mislabeling
The mislabeling of fish, sometimes in error but often deliberate, impacts all sectors of the fishing industry. Legitimate fish harvesting operations experience unfair competition from unscrupulous fishermen, processors accept cheaper varieties of fish to subsequently sell to vendors, retailers and restaurants pay high prices for inferior varieties of fish, and all additional costs are passed along to consumers. Seafood ID™ from ACGT, Inc. allows clients to identify fraud and make informed decisions.

Quotation RequestWhile species misidentification is one clear issue, the creation of international zones in which the harvesting of a single species is regulated, has led to illegal fishing from areas deemed off-limits. In addition, many countries have local and regional regulations concerning approved fishing areas. It is impossible to determine where a particular fish has been caught without DNA analysis, and ACGT, Inc. can help our clients identify illegal fishing activity.


Examples of Substituted Seafood


You Purchase But You Get
Red Snapper Rockfish
Mahi Mahi Yellowtail
Swordfish Mako Shark
Orange Roughy Oreo Dory or John Dory
Cod Alaska Pollock
Halibut Sea Bass
Dover Sole Arrowtooth Flounder
Red Drum (Red Fish; Southern or Gulf) Black Drum
Lake or Yellow Perch (Great Lakes) White Perch
Lake or Yellow Perch (Great Lakes) Zander
Caviar (Sturgeon species) Paddlefish and other Fish Roe
Walleye Sauger
Atlantic Salmon Pacific Salmon
Chum Salmon Pink Salmon
Scallops Skate Wings
Walleye Alaskan Pollock
Salmon Steelhead Trout
Blue Crabmeat Imported Crabmeat
Wild Caught Salmon Farm Raised Salmon
Grouper Channel Catfish


Examples of fish mislabeling:


  1. "From sea to sushi bar, a system open to abuse"
    boston.com: October 24, 2011
  2. "Hake hoax in Spanish markets"
    iwatch news: October 6, 2011
  3. "Eco-labelled fish may be unsustainably fished, or the wrong species"
    Discover Magazine: August 20, 2011
  4. “Oceana Launches New Campaign in U.S. to Stop Seafood Fraud”
    Oceana: May 25, 2011
  5. “Seafood Fraud Occurs up to 70 Percent of Time with Some Species, Report Finds”
    TCPALM.com: June 17, 2011
  6. “Fish Fraud: The Menus Said Snapper, But It Wasn't!”
    Originally reported by the Chicago Sun-Times: May 10, 2007
  7. “That Grouper on the Menu? Turns Out It Was a Fish Tale”
    The New York Times: May 27, 2007
  8. “Seafood CSI: Study Shows Fish Not Always Marketed Under Proper Names”
    The Times-Standard: May 25, 2009
  9. “The Case of the Mysterious Seafood”
    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: February 1, 2010
  10. “GAO Report Urges Collaboration”
    SeafoodSource: March 23, 2009
  11. “Dingell Calls for Action on Food Fraud”
    Food Safety News: April 3, 2010
  12. “Can DNA Fight Seafood Fraud?”
    SeafoodSource: February 11, 2010
  13. “Product Substitution Must Be Stopped”
    Seafood Business: January 1, 2007
  14. “Time to Consider Restaurant COOL?”
    Seafood Business: June 1, 2007
  15. “Red Snapper – New Measures Hope to Bring the Species Back to Sustainable Levels”
    Seafood Business: September 1, 2007
  16. “Bluefin Tuna Showdown Pits Industry vs. Ecology”
    AFP: November 17, 2010
  17. “U.S. Consumers Bite on a Fishy Seafood”
    The Baltimore Sun: July 15, 2004
  18. “DNA Barcoding Reveals Mislabeled Cod and Haddock in Dublin”
    ScienceDaily: April 26, 2010
  19. “Sushi DNA Tests Reveal Fraud”
    Wired Science: November 20, 2009
  20. “DNA Testing Makes Sure the Grouper You Ordered Isn't Catfish”
    Florida Times Union: September 1, 2009
  21. “One-third of Takeaways Label Fish Incorrectly”
    The Irish Times: March 31, 2011


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