Massive fish fraud: That filet may not be what you think

[TheGator]

According to a nationwide survey from Oceana, fish fraud is rampant in the United States, with all but the most easily identifiable fish mislabeled and sold as something that it's not. Of the more than 1,200 samples collected from the nation's major metropolitan areas, one third were mislabeled.

Especially egregious are the cases of red snapper and tuna, which were mislabeled 87 percent and 59 percent of the time, respectively. Tilefish were sometimes sold as red snapper, though tilefish has especially high levels of mercury and is not recommended for sensitive eaters. As for tuna, it frequently turned out to be escolar, a snake mackerel, which can cause sever gastrointestinal distress even after eating only a few ounces.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=1012&sid=24211325

[rburnett]

No doubt, happens everywhere. Those 2 examples of tilefish for ARS and mackerel for tuna are very odd though. That would be like labeling a pork chop as a ny strip. In the panhandle golden tile is one of the most desirable species too. I don't know , maybe there is some other tile variety that is trash.

[G8trGr8t]

tilapia is commonly substituted for snapper and sometimes grouper but tilapia is still pretty good fish. We never buy fish at markets though and rarely order when out since we catch our own. Halibut, lingcod, and salmon from Alaska and redfish and grouper here. wish I could get some true red snapper here but that would be a real long boat ride in this part of the state.

[gtr2x]

Unfortunately, ordering seafood has become a bit of a crapshoot. Havent ordered red snapper for years because of the bait and switch routine. Ordered sea bass this past weekend, still not sure it is what I received (probably a cousin from the wrong side of the tracks).
Im not a big fan of farm raised stuff, which pretty much eliminates ordering salmon in Florida and dont care for tilapia which is everywhere. Shrimp, scallops can also be questionable in certain areas. Depressing, because I like most all seafood. Hard to mess with stone crabs tho.

[jsc28]

So basically everything other than Salmon is being fraudulent sold at times.

[gtr2x]

Originally Posted by jsc28

So basically everything other than Salmon is being fraudulent sold at times.

Depends on your point of view. Salmon sold in Florida is usually farm raised, which is not the same as caught in the wild imo. My wife is fine with farm raised tho. If you ask the server they will usually tell you the truth in my experience.

[G8trGr8t]

farm rasied salmon is nothing like wild salmon from my experience. I personally don't like "fishy" tasting fish but wild salmon (silvers and kings) are not fishy tasting.

like 2x said, can't mess with crab (favorite is king crab) or lobster either as long as you are getting it in the shell.

[TheGator]

I loved the report said 74% of the time at Sushi restaurants the wrong fish is served.

Yikes!!!!

I love Sushi. I now have to think twice about eating at a Sushi restaurant.

[Gator515151]

Originally Posted by G8trGr8t

wish I could get some true red snapper here but that would be a real long boat ride in this part of the state.

The last time I took the wife out in the boat she came home with a red snapper.

[orangeblueorangeblue]

Originally Posted by jsc28

So basically everything other than Salmon is being fraudulent sold at times.

You can fake salmon with trout, but then you don't save very much money.

If you can't tell the difference between tilapia and grouper you probably deserve to be taken for a few bucks anyway.

[bakaduin]

How the heck do you fake tuna with escolar? Tuna is red and escolar is white.

[akaGatorhoops]

Originally Posted by rburnett

No doubt, happens everywhere. Those 2 examples of tilefish for ARS and mackerel for tuna are very odd though. That would be like labeling a pork chop as a ny strip. In the panhandle golden tile is one of the most desirable species too. I don't know , maybe there is some other tile variety that is trash.

I deep drop for tile fish every couple weeks . . . outstanding!

[mfpardnor2]

The thing that pisses me off living in Florida too many restaurants don't serve locally caught fish, just cheap shit from China.
Luckily I've got a couple where I can still get a good Snapper dinner or Grouper Sandwich.

[Billygator76]

Wife and I tried out a Thai restaurant and sushi bar recently in Panama City Beach it was a new one and we thought we would try it out. The menu had about 100 different sushi rolls and other 'rolls' I'd never heard Orishi? anyway there were several rolls that had 'red snapper', my thought was don't believe this cheesy looking Thai restaurant is using real red snapper outside of season, this article confirms in my mind that you don't believe much these days. I won't order red snapper except from a dockside restaurant during the short snapper season. Morality and truth are no long important to lots of folks these days.

[toon66]

Originally Posted by mfpardnor2

The thing that pisses me off living in Florida too many restaurants don't serve locally caught fish, just cheap shit from China.
Luckily I've got a couple where I can still get a good Snapper dinner or Grouper Sandwich.

Agreed. 400 Beach in St Pete claims to be a seafood restaurant but the last time I went there, they had no snapper or any other local, wild caught fish. They had tilapia and basa crap fish at a premium price, though. Basically, whatever cheap junk they can roll off a Sysco truck. I walked out and never have gone back.

Went to Ciccio and Tony's here in Hyde Park another time and the fish of the day was "farm raised swordfish." I asked the waiter to ask the chef how one would farm raise a swordfish? His response was, "In a fishery." I got up and walked out.