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People are getting catfished — literally.
Experts warn that when it comes to sushi, what you sea is often not what you get — with the US clocking in as one of the world’s biggest fish forgers.
Studies have shown that cheaper fish alternatives are being mislabeled and masqueraded as salmon, tuna, snapper and other top-shelf raw seafood — with the cost-cutting counterfeits almost impossible to spot after the sushi’s been sliced and served.
In the US, snapper, salmon, prawns, tuna — popular fish in sushi and sashimi — are the most commonly mislabeled.
“Because mislabelling rates depend on the species, if consumers want to avoid mislabelling then they should avoid certain species and prioritize others,” Dr. Marine Cusa, a marine biologist and policy expert from the Technical University of Denmark, told the Daily Mail.
Oftentimes, the frighteningly common practice isn’t even malicious.
According to the pros, it’s normal to label and sell fish under more generic names — to avoid confusing buyers.
For example, fish labeled “tuna” could be one of 68 different species, the outlet stated.
In general, the more coveted the species is as sushi, the more likely it is to be forged.
According to a 2018 study, the most commonly swapped fish in the US and Canada is snapper.
A common substitute is tilapia, which is cheap and widely available given that it is raised via aquaculture around the globe, the Independent reported.
Tuna also saw high rates of deep-fakery. Research from 2018 showed that out of 545 tuna samples in six European countries, 6.7% of them were from an entirely different species than what was advertised on the labels.
Mislabelling of Atlantic Bluefin tuna — a prized sushi fish — could be as high as 100 percent, depending on the country.
Tiger prawns, meanwhile, were the most mislabeled seafood in the US, according to a 2020 Harvard Study, per the Daily Mail.
Following close behind was farmed Atlantic Salmon, which is often sold under the guise of cheaper rainbow trout, according to another 2020 study.
Unfortunately, this common loophole can be exploited by bad actors, who purposefully bait and switch customers with misleading labels — which is surprisingly easy to pull off.
“The average person looking at it, they can’t tell. But you can sell four or five different fish that look like a red snapper and they’re not a red snapper,” Tony Maltese, who has over 55 years of experience in and is the director of seafood at the Fairway Market grocery chain in New York, told CNBC’s “American Greed” in 2018.
These culinary trojan horses are not only misleading — they can be dangerous.
One of the popular pinch-hitters for tuna is escolar, a cheap fish that can cause diarrhea because they contain an indigestible wax that acts a natural laxative. It has been responsible for mass food poisoning incidents in the past.
Unfortunately, seafood fraud is growing more prevalent due to the “increasingly complex and obscure” supply chain, making it difficult to see whether this scam begins on the boat, wholesaler, or retailer, according to nonprofit marine conservancy group Oceana.
How do you spot a so-called fish tale?
Dr. Cusa advised, “In general, fish products that are sold in supermarket chains and that have thorough labels indicating the species, catch location and catching gear, are also good choices.”
“On the other hand, processed products, canned products with little information if any are, almost by definition, mislabeled,” she added. “I would avoid any product with poor labeling or where the species is not indicated.”
