Buyer beware as imported imposter fish still at large

Press Releases and Statements April 26, 2012 Read time:

Projects: OCEAN2012

(London) – A briefing paper released today by OCEAN2012 confirms that overfishing is having a knock-on effect on the quality of fish that ends up on the dinner table, with mislabelling of fish still a problem.

“A great fraud is being committed on an unsuspecting public. Fish are being mislabelled and passed off as more expensive or even sustainably caught species”, said Ian Campbell, OCEAN2012 UK co-ordinator. “Our demand for seafood is growing while the availability of locally caught fish declines because of overfishing. Imported fish are flooding European markets, sometimes being sold fraudulently."

The paper notes that chip shops, restaurants and supermarkets in the UK and Europe are becoming increasingly reliant on imported fish - like pangasius, which is imported from China - to satisfy our appetite. From 1999 to 2009 imports of pangasius into the EU increased from around 2,000 to more than 220,000 tonnes.

A 2011 study carried out by the University of Bangor for Greenpeace and The Sunday Times found that 6 per cent of fish bought from a range of UK supermarkets was mislabelled. For example, cod was found being sold as haddock in some shops(1). There have been several cases of chip shop owners being prosecuted for passing off pangasius as cod (2).

According to the most recent data published by the European Commission, annual fish consumption in the UK has increased by over 1kg per person since it was last recorded in 2008. The UK is fourteenth in the EU for fish consumption, with the average Brit now consuming 21.4 kg of fish a year. Portugal and Spain top the list, with the consumers in those countries getting through 61.6kg and 44.8kg a year respectively (3).

"The EU has the largest and some of the richest fishing grounds in the world but we have failed to manage them responsibly. Consumers should choose which fish they buy carefully, and encourage politicians to stop overfishing”.

Ian Campbell, OCEAN2012 coordinator in the UK

Consumers wanting to buy sustainable fish should:

Avoid Panga, Cobbler Fish, Striped Catfish and Basa Fish, all by-names for pangasius which is imported about 5000 miles from China
Check out the Marine Conservation Society “Good Fish Guide” before they buy (4).
Write to their MP calling on them to end overfishing

Notes to editors

1.http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Environment/article611538.ece

2. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-1199190/Catfish-chips-anyone.html

3. p.44 2012 Facts and figures on the Common Fisheries Policy (PDF): compared to 2008 edition (PDF)

4.MCS Good Fish Guide

About OCEAN2012

OCEAN2012 is an alliance of organisations dedicated to stopping overfishing, ending destructive fishing practices and delivering fair and equitable use of healthy fish stocks.

OCEAN2012 was initiated, and is co-ordinated, by the Pew Environment Group, the conservation arm of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-governmental organisation working to end overfishing in the world´s oceans.

The steering group of OCEAN2012 consists of the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements, Ecologistas en Acción, The Fisheries Secretariat, nef (new economics foundation), the Pew Environment Group and Seas At Risk.