July 3, 2018 –On June 15th, the Associated Press released an investigation into Sea to Table, a seafood distributor based in New York, claiming that Sea to Table had misrepresented where some of their seafood had been caught. This case of seafood fraud is particularly troubling as Sea to Table’s main appeal is that they ensure traceability and a clean, sustainable supply chain.
Sea to Table works like this:
Sea to Table partners with domestic fishers, fishing boats, docks, and suppliers to connect them directly to restaurants. Once landed & processed, fish are shipped directly to the chefs who purchase, all facilitated by Sea to Table. This cuts out the traditional fish monger middleman, ensuring a higher price for the fishers and processors, and a fresh, high-quality seafood product for chefs. It also reduces the chances of a fish being mislabeled as the more often a fish changes hands, the more likely it is to be mislabeled.
Encyclopedia Brown and The Case of the Yellowfin Tuna
Sea to Table was a rapidly growing company until the Associated Press found that they sold yellowfin tuna—claimed to be caught off Montauk, NY—that may have been landed elsewhere. The problem comes from one of Sea to Table’s supply partners, Gosman’s, located in Montauk. According to Sea to Table, the tuna sold was supplied by Gosman’s, but had actually been caught in North Carolina (still a sustainable, U.S. fishery). Sea to Table says labeling that tuna as caught off Montauk instead of North Carolina was a simple failure to communicate (and they have apologized), however, the AP did preliminary DNA testing on a piece of tuna in question and claim it is actually from the Indian or Pacific Ocean.