Genetic markers show something fishy with certified Chilean sea bass sales

The research by Marko, Holly Nance and Kimberly Guynn is reported in the Aug. 23 edition of Current Biology (Marko et al.: “Genetic detection of mislabeled fish from a certified sustainable fishery” Vol. 21 No. 16).

The findings raise questions about the integrity of the “chain of custody” for retail fish certified to be from sustainable fisheries. Somewhere along the fish supply chain, which starts with the Marine Stewardship Council certifying that a location is a sustainable fishery and ends in a market with fish on ice eco-labeled as sustainably harvested seafood, a significant number of impostors are introduced.

Analyzing the mitochondrial DNA from fish purchased at retail outlets in eight states, the researchers found that eight percent of 36 fish sampled were “actually other species,” according to Marko, and that 15 percent of 33 fish sampled had mitochondrial DNA variants that are not known from the South Georgia/Shag Rocks population, which is the only certified Chilean sea bass fishery. The location is in the South Ocean between Antarctica and the southern tip of South America.

“Our data point to a problem with the supply chain,” said Marko. “Fish are being sold that are improperly labeled. Where and how the uncertified fish reach market was not the focus of our research but are issues that deserve attention.”

Marko has been a fish sleuth before. In 2004, he and his students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill used genetic analyses to identify red snapper, finding out that a significant number of the fish sold in markets were not what were advertised.

Media Contact

Peter Marko EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.clemson.edu

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors