Saving Seafood

New Study Reveals High Risk of Illegal Seafood Imports Entering Japanese Market

August 1, 2017 — TOKYO, Japan — A new paper published in the journal of Marine Policy estimates that 24–36% of 2.15 million tonnes of wild-seafood imports to Japan in 2015, valued at $1.6 to $2.4 billion, were of illegal or unreported origin.

The investigation, conducted by a team of leading researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC), assessed 27 seafood products coming from 9 leading source countries to Japan; some products such as imported Chinese eel were found to be up to 45-75% illegally harvested. Although Japan has taken recent steps to address the illegal seafood problem including the ratification of the Port State Measures Agreement, stronger actions must be taken to prevent illegal products from entering one of the world’s largest markets.

The current import control system in Japan—one of the top three seafood markets globally—poses very little deterrent to the entry of illegal seafood. Japan has yet to implement the same anti-IUU and traceability standards as the US and Europe, including a lack of import regulations to verify product legality. Although a limited catch documentation scheme is implemented for Bluefin tuna, Russian crab, and Patagonian Toothfish, as part of Japan’s commitments to Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO) and other international agreements, such arrangements do not apply to the bulk of its seafood imports.

Read the full story at Ocean Outcomes

You May Soon Be Able to Track Your Seafood in Real Time to Fight Fish Fraud

March 29, 2017 — Fishermen and chefs are working together to curb rampant fraud in the seafood industry by allowing people to track a fish from the moment it’s caught until it lands at a restaurant or market.

Dock to Dish, an organization that fights seafood fraud by connecting chefs with fisheries in their local communities, is building a tracking system in an effort to solve the common problem of mislabeled seafood. A global test of more than 25,000 samples of seafood found that 1 in 5 was mislabeled as the wrong type of fish, according to a 2016 report from ocean conservation advocacy group Oceana, meaning people often purchase and eat seafood that is not what they presume it to be.

“People want to know. They’re demanding to know where food is coming from,” Dock to Dish co-founder Sean Barrett said.

The organization has raised more than $69,000 of its $75,000 Kickstarter goal to build a tracking system called Dock to Dish 2.0. In addition to supplying local restaurants with the catch of the day, Dock to Dish aims to present a digitized “end to end program that can answer every single question a consumer might have,” Barrett said.

The program would enable restaurant guests to see where their dinners come from through an online dashboard that displays newly caught fish in barcoded bags, which can be tracked as they travel to eateries. Customers would also be able to chat with fishermen before heading out to eat.

Read the full story at Time 

US issuing new rules to curb illegal fishing, seafood fraud

January 3, 2017 — PORTLAND, Maine — The Obama administration is issuing new rules it says will crack down on illegal fishing and seafood fraud by preventing unverifiable fish products from entering the U.S. market.

The new protections are called the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, and they are designed to stop illegally fished and intentionally misidentified seafood from getting into stores and restaurants by way of imported fish.

The rules will require seafood importers to report information and maintain records about the harvest and chain of custody of fish, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

The program will start by focusing on “priority species” that are especially vulnerable to illegal fishing, such as popular food fish like tuna, swordfish, Atlantic cod and grouper. The government hopes eventually to broaden the program out to include all fish species, NOAA officials said.

“It sends an important message to the international seafood community that if you are open and transparent about the seafood you catch and sell across the supply chain, then the U.S. markets are open for your business,” said Catherine Novelli, a State Department undersecretary.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Seattle Times

The White House Just Made It Easier To Know The Fish You’re Eating Is Actually Fish

December 9, 2016 — The Obama administration took a massive step in the fight against seafood fraud and illegal fishing on Thursday, introducing a rule that will help Americans know the fish they’re eating is truly what they paid for.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will oversee the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which will require about 25 percent of imported seafood to be traced from the boat or farm it comes from to the U.S. border. The rule is meant to curb the mislabeling of fish before it enters the U.S. (about 90 percent of fish we consume is imported) and cut down on overfishing. Businesses will have until the beginning of 2018 to comply.

“Today’s announcement is a groundbreaking step towards more transparency and traceability in the seafood supply chain,”said Beth Lowell, a senior campaign director for the environmental group Oceana, in a statement. “For the first time ever, some imported seafood will now be held to the same standards as domestically caught fish, helping to level the playing field for American fishermen and reducing the risk facing U.S. consumers.”

Read the full story at the Huffington Post

More than 80 percent want new safeguards against seafood fraud and mislabeling

September 28, 2016 — WASHINGTON — A new survey by Oceana finds more than 4 of 5 Americans want new regulations to eliminate seafood fraud and mislabeling of fish in the United States.

The survey found that support for traceability requirements – like documenting how and where various types of fish were caught or farmed – was high among registered Democratic voters – 87 percent and Republicans – 81 percent.

The national survey by Oceana, an international ocean conservation group, queried 1,000 registered voters from September 15-19.

It found 71 percent believe seafood fraud is a problem, 76 percent would pay more to know their seafood products are legally caught and labled correctly, while 88 percent feel it’s important to know the kind of seafood they’re consuming.

Read the full story from McClatchy DC at the Miami Herald

NEW YORK: Cuomo signs the Ex-Lax fish bill

September 12, 2016 — Seriously, you read that headline correctly.

Among the bills signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday is legislation that would ban the sale of escolar — a fish that causes some cases, uhhh, distressing gastrointestinal effects for diners — by any other name.

Because only Casey Seiler can do such a Tale of Actual Legislation justice, from his report earlier in the year:

Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee and Sen. Tony Avella are the most recent lawmakers to address the problem of the misbranding of escolar — aka walu or the snake mackerel — a fish that while reputed to be rich and delicious can have a rather, well, unpleasant impact on a certain subset of diners.

The justification memo on their bill points to multiple investigations — including a 2011 Boston Globe report that while comprehensive and worthwhile will almost certainly never be made into an Oscar-winning movie — that “revealed significant levels of fraud and species misidentification” on menus.

Read the full story from the Albany Times Union

Switch and chips: 20 percent of fish are purposely mislabeled, sometimes dangerously

September 9, 2016 — In the bizarro world of seafood fraud, a fish is not always what it seems.

When sold in Brazil, largetooth sawfish — a species classified as critically endangered — becomes anonymous “shark.”

When sold in a certain Santa Monica, Calif., sushi shop, illegal whale meat became fatty tuna. (The restaurant has since shut down.)

And when sold across the United States, cheap Asian catfish becomes one of 18 types of white fish fraudsters want it to be, according to a recent report.

Worldwide, one in five pieces of fish meat is incorrectly named on the menu or label, revealed the new survey representing 25,000 fish samples.

Oceana, a marine conservation and advocacy group, released the report on Wednesday, and updated the global map it created in 2014. The new map is interactive and highlights news stories of restaurant fraud, as well as DNA analysis and other scientific studies.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Why You Should Be Worried About Fish Fraud

June 13, 2016 –Fish has been heralded as one of the healthiest foods on the planet, loaded with those highly beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.

But there is one important thing to consider before you make fish a staple in your diet – seafood fraud.

This type of fraud includes any illegal activity that misrepresents seafood being sold, which is shockingly easy. More than 90 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, and the government inspects less than 1 percent of that specifically for fraud, according to Oceana, one of the largest international ocean conservation and advocacy organizations.

Using DNA testing, Oceana conducted a two-year investigation of seafood fraud from 2010 to 2012 and found that one-third of seafood is mislabeled, according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines.

Additionally, 44 percent of all the grocery stores, restaurants and sushi venues the organization investigated sold mislabeled seafood. It’s difficult to pinpoint, however, at what stage in the supply chain these fraudulent activities occur, as the Oceana study notes.

Read the full story at attn.com

ALASKA: Senator Dan Sullivan getting immersed in fishery issues in Congress

April 11, 2016 — KODIAK, Alaska — Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan has scored seats on nearly every congressional committee that deals with issues on, over and under the oceans, fulfilling a commitment he made to Kodiak when he ran for office two years ago.

When he visited Kodiak last week, Sullivan ticked off a list of fishery-related actions he’s had a hand in getting accomplished over the last year: passage of an enforcement act to combat global fish pirating and seafood fraud; adding language to bills that lift pricey classification requirements on new fishing vessels; and a one-year water discharge exemption so fishermen don’t need special permits to hose down their decks.

He said he is “working to make sure new regulations don’t place an undue burden on the industry.

See the full story at the Alaska Dispatch News

MSC piloting innovative seafood traceability tool

August 17, 2015 — The following has been released by the Marine Stewardship Council:

The MSC is exploring new ways of providing additional protection from seafood fraud in its supply chain. Over the past two years we have been piloting a new traceability tool, the MSC Online Transaction Solution (MOTS), and are seeking feedback to shape its continued development.

Pioneering tool

To date there has been no online tool available that can securely handle and verify information about seafood supply chain transactions on a global scale.

The new tool cross-checks and verifies sales and purchases of seafood products made by processing, distribution and retail companies as they move through the complex global supply chain.

Since its development in 2012, the online verification tool has been trialled in seven European and fifteen Chinese companies. The current plan is to roll the tool out to over 3,000 supply chain companies handling certified products in over 34,000 sites around the world.

Invitation to help shape the tool

This is the second and final opportunity for industry partners to offer their expertise, and help shape an effective tool that meets current and future industry demands.

How to take part in consultation

The public consultation is open from 17 August to 18 September 2015.

If you are a seafood industry professional, you can:

Share your insights in our online consultation >

Join our online interactive MOTS workshop > (2 and 3 September)

The workshops are designed for supply chain companies to offer practical solutions on seafood transaction and verification. Spaces are limited, so please register your interest by email to standards@msc.org.

Meeting industry needs and global best-practice

“The MSC’s segregation and traceability program is widely recognised as one of the most effective systems for tracking seafood along the supply chain” said Titia Sjenitzer, Senior Product Integrity Manager at the MSC. “However, the seafood industry is dynamic. Demand for certified sustainable seafood continues to grow, and other certification schemes such as the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), are working with the MSC and using our Chain of Custody Standard. This means that more scalable monitoring mechanisms are required to ensure the MSC’s system remains efficient and effective”.

Over 3,000 organisations, operating from over 34,000 sites in more than 60 countries currently hold an MSC Chain of Custody certificate. These organisations are responsible for handling over 18,000 products that are sold with the MSC ecolabel in around 100 countries.

DNA testing shows that 99% of MSC labelled products are correctly labelled, demonstrating the integrity of the current system. However, the MSC is seeking to evolve its tools and systems in order to ensure that its Chain of Custody Standard continues to lead the industry in ensuring a traceable supply chain for seafood.

Using latest technologies, the tool will complement, but not replace, the existing MSC Chain of Custody system.

“We took part in trialling the MSC Online Transaction Solution and felt it is an important addition to our business. The tool provides us with added confidence that our brand and products are running through a secure and genuine supply chain handling only certified seafood” said Alex Olsen, A. Espersen A/S, MSC certified processing company in Denmark.

If the pilot proves successful, the new tool will be implemented across the full program by 2018. The tool will verify seafood sale and purchase transaction information (such as volume, species, invoice number and transaction date) to mitigate the risk of non-sustainable products being labelled and sold as certified.