WASHINGTON — February 21, 2013 — You walk into your favorite sushi joint and order a white tuna roll. What you could be getting: an escolar roll with a side of gastrointestinal distress (depending on your sensitivity and how much is consumed). Oceana, an international organization dedicated to ocean conservation, just released an extensive report on seafood fraud across America, including a particular focus on cities like Boston, New York, and Washington. The results are mixed, but for Washington sushi and sashimi lovers, there’s some reason for concern.
Seafood fraud can occur at a number of points between the boat and your plate—from fisherman or processing companies mislabeling seafood to buyers and restaurants listing one species on the menu and serving another. A common example in our area is crab. If someone can sell cheap Asian or South American meat as “Maryland crabcakes” at a premium and turn a profit—or keep customers coming back for the same product when local crustaceans aren’t in season—then that’s seafood fraud. And it happens quite often. Besides economics, the biggest concerns are when a threatened species is identified as a sustainable one, or when a fish that carries a health advisory, like escolar, is substituted for another that’s generally considered safe to eat, such as white tuna.
Read Oceana's full report here