Seafood is one of the most versatile proteins you can cook. You can fry it, grill it, grill it, and even serve it raw. But above all culinary methods, seafood also covers a wide range of creatures that live in water.
If you regularly cook with fish, you probably think you can recognize different types of seafood based on their appearance. But as it turns out, there is a whole corner of the banking industry in the exact opposite.
On TikTok, content creator Kat McCue posted a series of videos detailing a practice known as “fish fraud.” Through his work with fish purveyor Wild Alaskan Company, McCue has identified many of the different ways consumers can be misled at the wholesale, retail, and restaurant levels.
That means there’s a good chance you bought and ate fish that was incorrectly labeled as something else. The practice is more prevalent than you probably realize, but there are ways to avoid it. Here are all the different types of fish scams out there and how to make sure you get exactly what you paid for.
What Are the Types of Fish Fraud?
One of the most extreme forms of fish fraud is what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes as “bait and switch.” This practice, also known as substitution, is when vendors exchange certain types of fish for one of lower value.
When the fish is processed and sold as a filet, it is easy to sell catfish instead of grouper, or rockfish instead of red snapper. The FDA conducted a study a decade ago to genetically test fish sold to consumers, and they found 15 percent of wholesale fish were mislabeled. This practice can occur either intentionally or as an unintentional mix-up in the supply chain.
Fish fraud can also come in more subtle forms. McCue flagged that many vendors mislabeled fish based on how it was raised. This is especially common in salmon, which is often mislabeled as wild when it is actually farmed.
Consumers may be aware that eating wild salmon has environmental, culinary, and nutritional benefits, but most lack the industry-specific knowledge to properly identify those types. So producers routinely take advantage of this knowledge gap by dyeing farmed salmon to be pink (yes, that really happens) and mislabeling seafood as something it’s not.
How to Avoid Fish Fraud
The two best ways you can clock fish fraud are to do your research about the seafood you buy and ask questions. The FDA offers a list of commonly mislabeled fish and their more affordable substitutes. If any of the breeds on that list come up on your weekly shopping list, it’s worth knowing their market price and the visual characteristics you should expect.
When it comes to salmon in particular, there are several contextual clues to consider—and it all starts with the name they use. There are five different types of wild salmon you should expect to find in an American grocery store. If your vendor does not specify what type of wild salmon they are selling, your alarm bells should start ringing.
McCue compares it to selling apples without specifying whether they are fuji or honeycrisp. Like fruit varietals, different types of wild salmon have their own unique characteristics and warrant specific labeling.
Another descriptor of salmon that raises a red flag is “wild Atlantic.” This type of salmon will not exist in 2024 due to environmental regulations. And if your local seafood vendor doubles down on that designation, McCue says you should be suspicious of any fish they’re selling.
Even if the practice of fish fraud causes you reasonable anxiety, McCue emphasizes the importance of proceeding with kindness. “It doesn’t have to be an antagonistic exchange,” he explained in a TikTok. “People don’t always know what they’re talking about…and things get lost in translation along the way—intentionally or not.”
Gabby Romero is Delish’s editorial assistant, where she writes stories about the latest TikTok trends, creates recipes, and answers any and all of your cooking-related questions. He loves to eat spicy food, collect cookbooks, and add a mountain of Parmesan to any dish he can.
