November 26, 2026 — Craving fish? Your seafood may be “catfishing” you.
Studies show diners may be getting a completely different, usually cheaper fish than the one they ordered.
It’s called seafood fraud, and it’s happening in quite a few Chicago restaurants, studies show.
NBC 5 Responds visited Hooked on Fish market in Edgewater to find out more about seafood fraud. Owner Karen Wollins explained that some consumers fall victim because it can be difficult to tell one fish from another just by looking at them.
“A lot of people don’t really know,” said Wollins, who has operated Hooked on Fish for the past decade. The market specializes in selling responsibly sourced, sustainable fish.
So we asked Kathy, a Hooked on Fish customer and diehard seafood fan, to try to identify a few fish species based on their fillets in a display window.