Deceptive Dishes: Seafood Swaps Found Worldwide Table of Contents Authors

Deceptive Dishes: Seafood Swaps Found Worldwide Table of Contents Authors 1 Executive Summary Dr. Kimberly Warner, Patrick Mustain, Beth Lowell, Sarah Geren 3 Introduction and Spencer Talmage 4 Global Review of Seafood Fraud Acknowledgements 6 Highlights The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions 10 The European Union: during the development and review of this A Promising Case Study report as well as the map and analyses: Dr. Andrea Armani, Eric Bilsky, Christopher Carolin, Alicia Cate, Dustin Cranor, Carlos 12 Conclusion and Disla, Nicolas Fournier, Rachel Golden Recommendations Kroner, Dr. Kathryn Matthews, Dr. Dana Miller, Jacqueline Savitz and Amelia Vorpahl. 13 Building the Global Map Oceana is grateful for the investment 14 Endnotes of Oceans 5, the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, the Robertson Foundation, the 16 Global Review and Map David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Pacific Life Foundation in our efforts to Bibliography reduce seafood fraud and end illegal fishing through improved traceability. Steve De Neef Highlights of this Executive Summary review include: • One in five of the more than eafood fraud is a serious global problem of overexploitation only increases when 25,000 samples of seafood tested that undermines honest businesses and considering the complexity and opacity S worldwide was mislabeled, on fishermen that play by the rules. It also of the global seafood supply chain, which average. The studies reviewed threatens consumer health and puts our is rife with illegal fishing, human rights found seafood mislabeling at oceans at risk. As global fishing becomes abuses, inadequate management, and with every sector of the seafood more expansive and further industrialized, the exception of a few model countries, supply chain: retail, wholesale, seafood fraud and its related impacts could little to no traceability. However, these distribution, import/export, get even worse. This update of Oceana’s problems can and should be addressed. packaging/processing and landing. 2014 review of seafood fraud studies Oceana maintains that with proper demonstrates the global scope of the management, the oceans’ wild fisheries • Seafood fraud was investigated in problem, but also reveals some promising could provide a responsibly caught, 55 countries and found on every trends due to recent regulations in the nutritious seafood meal to 1 billion people continent except for Antarctica. European Union (EU) that are increasing every day.1 But proper management transparency and traceability as well requires transparency and accountability. • Every study found seafood fraud, as addressing illegal, unregulated and except for one. unreported (IUU) fishing. An interactive In 2014, Oceana documented the global map of global seafood fraud cases and reach of seafood fraud in its review of • Asian catfish, hake and escolar studies compiled by Oceana can be found at the literature, identifying reports of were the three types of fish most oceana.org/seafoodfraudmap. fraud in 29 countries. At the time of its commonly substituted. Specifically, release, Oceana’s report was the most farmed Asian catfish was sold as 18 Seafood fraud comes in different forms, comprehensive review of seafood fraud different types of higher-value fish. including species substitution—often a publications ever, citing 103 sources, low-value or less desirable seafood item including investigations by journalists, • More than half (58 percent) of swapped for a more expensive or desirable peer-reviewed literature, and government the samples substituted for other choice—improper labeling, including hiding and non-governmental organization seafood posed a species-specific the true origin of seafood products, or (NGO) documents. A similar analysis of 51 health risk to consumers, meaning adding extra breading, water or glazing to peer-reviewed studies published since 2005 that consumers could be eating fish seafood products to increase their apparent found a 30 percent average rate of fraud that could make them sick. Acknowledgements weight. The focus of this review is seafood globally, a rate consistent with Oceana’s mislabeling and species substitution. own additional investigations into seafood • Eighty-two percent of the 200 fraud in the United States, which found grouper, perch and swordfish The majority of assessed fisheries around mislabeling rates for fish, shrimp and crab samples tested in Italy were the world are already being fished at or between 30 and 38 percent.2 mislabeled, and almost half of the over their sustainable limits. And the risk substituted fish that were sold This update to Oceana’s 2014 global fraud were species that are considered report reviewed more than double the threatened with extinction by the number of studies and cases as previous International Union for Conservation reviews, looking at seafood fraud globally of Nature (IUCN). and examining more than 200 peer-reviewed • In Brazil, 55 percent of “shark” journal articles, popular media sources, Seafood fraud is a samples tested were actually and public documents from governments largetooth sawfish, a species serious global problem and NGOs. considered by the IUCN to be that undermines A presidential task force has released a critically endangered and for which honest businesses and proposed rule to address IUU fishing trade is prohibited in Brazil. and seafood fraud, two problems that are fishermen that play by linked due to a global, complex and opaque • Ninety-eight percent of the 69 the rules, threatens seafood supply chain and that share a bluefin tuna dishes tested in Brussels common solution: full-chain traceability restaurants were mislabeled. consumer health, and for all seafood. The proposed rule includes puts our oceans at risk. traceability requirements that would only apply to 13 “at-risk” types of seafood, and oceana.org 1 Credit Executive Summary those requirements would be in effect only from the boat or farm to the U.S. border. While a valuable first step, the rule as proposed would be inadequate. Extension of traceability requirements inside the U.S. border could help prevent mislabeling and fraud that occurs within the U.S. supply chain, instances of which have been documented and compiled in a recent Oceana report. Of the 60 different misidentified types of seafood in that report, only 26 percent would be covered by the rule. Seventy-seven percent of the legal cases reviewed (since 2001), in which seafood was found or suspected to be mislabeled, involved fraud that occurred within the U.S. In other words, the rule as proposed ends traceability at the border and would do nothing to prevent those particular cases of seafood fraud within the United States. The EU offers a lesson on whether more transparency, traceability and seafood labeling requirements can help reduce fraud. At the turn of this century, the EU OCEANA | Jenn Hueting began developing legal provisions aimed at tracing seafood and providing more consistent information to consumers. labeling rules were implemented have The President’s Task Following these early legal provisions, indicated that, for the most part, where academic and government-sponsored regulations have been in effect and enforced, Force should: seafood mislabeling investigations rates of fraud have decreased. revealed weaknesses in the rules and their • Require key information to follow implementation and enforcement. These This in-depth examination into global seafood through the full supply studies, which gained attention in the seafood fraud shows that it is still a serious chain, from the boat or farm to media, likely helped sway the public and problem, hurting consumers’ health and the dinner plate. That information policymakers to strengthen rules governing wallets, and threatening marine wildlife should include species-specific the EU seafood market. In 2008, the EU and ecosystems. However, traceability and names, where and how a product established measures for combating illegal accountability, where in place and enforced, was caught, or whether it was fishing that included, among others, appear to reduce rates of fraud in the EU. farmed. catch documentation requirements for If the United States adopts comprehensive, all imported seafood in the EU market. full-chain traceability, it will be more • Expand traceability requirements These measures went into effect in January difficult for bad actors to mislead consumers to all seafood in the final rule or, 2010. Additional provisions that went and exploit our oceans. It could also serve as at a minimum, commit to a timeline into effect in 2012 and 2014 require even a model elsewhere. to do so. more stringent traceability and labeling requirements to ensure that fisheries The Presidential Task Force on Combating • Extend traceability requirements products can be traced back and checked IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud is at through the entire seafood supply throughout the supply chain. a critical crossroads. As the proposed chain. Seafood Import Monitoring Program rule • Provide consumers with more While many factors influence seafood fraud is being finalized and beyond, there are key information about the seafood rates, studies of seafood fraud that were opportunities to ensure that all seafood they purchase and eat. done both before and after the stronger EU sold in the U.S. is safe, legally caught and fisheries control, traceability and seafood honestly labeled. 2 OCEANA | Deceptive Dishes: Seafood Swaps Found Worldwide Introduction

Load more