Fraud Fishing

This article details a new method to ensure that people are getting what they pay for, more specifically what fish they are paying for.  For years, fishermen and fish markets have been passing off fish caught, either accidently or purposely, as different, more expensive fish and selling them to unsuspecting seafood buyers.  Once the fish is skinned and cut, it would be very hard to distinguish between other species.  If fishermen catch protected species, like the Great White Shark, they might keep it and try to sell it as Mako Shark.  Something is finally being done about this.  The FDA had begun looking into DNA bar coding, which is a genetic identification in certain laboratories to make sure that the fish is what it is labeled as.  The FDA is working with biologists from the University of Guelph in their Consortium for Barcode of Life project.  They are developing a database to identify all of the species of fish in the world!  The study started in 2007 and the database has just gone public to the people in November.  It contains DNA bar codes for the most frequently consumed fish.  Now happy seafood lovers will no longer be duped into buying cheap fish at a high price.