What’s In My Fish and Chips?
A Fishes Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Kopal Jha, Faunalytics.org
June 2019

The study had two key findings. First, there were significant differences in species use between takeaways and fishmongers. The second significant finding was that, among fishmongers, almost a third of labels failed to match the species designations allowed in the U.K.

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Overexploitation of shark meat by fisheries and coastal communities has driven a quarter of shark and ray species to near-extinction; Meanwhile, there are many opportunities in the supply chain global trade of seafood for shark products to be mislabelled as another species, making it difficult for consumers to determine if they are purchasing prohibited products.

The European Union (EU) has established strict legislation mandating the appropriate labeling of seafood and the disclosure of identifying information about products, so that consumers can make informed decisions about their purchases and trace their meat through the value chain.

However, the E.U. still contends with the problem of “umbrella” terms–broad designations on foods that encompass many species. These umbrella terms make it such that shark species with different regulations on capture and conservation are mixed with other species, perhaps with less severe conservation concerns (and regulations).

As a result, consumers remain unclear on the conservation status of the food they’re purchasing, and cannot confidently make a decision to avoid products that drive shark species further towards extinction.

Read more at What’s In My Fish & Chips?

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