Mass Media Influence and the Regulation of Illegal Practices in the Seafood Market

Mariani, Stefano; Ellis, Jamie; O'Reilly, Amy; Bréchon, Amanda L.; Sacchi, Carlotta; Miller, Dana

doi:10.1111/conl.12085

Cited by 33 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…2014). Together, these results appear to lend support to the suggestion that rapid changes in seafood trade operations may be influenced in part by mass media coverage (Mariani et al . 2014).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

Low mislabeling rates indicate marked improvements in European seafood market operations

Mariani

Griffiths

Velasco

et al. 2015

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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Over the span of a decade, genetic identification methods have progressively exposed the inadequacies of the seafood supply chain, revealing previously unrecognized levels of seafood fraud, raising awareness among the public, and serving as a warning to industry that malpractice will be detected. Here we present the outcome of the latest and largest multi‐species, transnational survey of fish labeling accuracy to date, which demonstrates an apparent sudden reduction of seafood mislabeling in Europe. We argue that recent efforts in legislation, governance, and outreach have had a positive impact on industry regulation. Coordinated, technology‐based, policy‐oriented actions can play a pivotal role in shaping a transparent, sustainable global seafood market and in bolstering healthier oceans.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 81%

Low mislabeling rates indicate marked improvements in European seafood market operations

Mariani

Griffiths

Velasco

et al. 2015

Frontiers in Ecol & Environ

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“…One notable exception is the case of Ireland, where media attention led to an improvement in substitution rates (Mariani et al, 2014). However, due to the lack of older data for France, it is not possible to know whether there was a similar effect and if the rates have changed over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish mislabelling in France: substitution rates and retail types

Bénard-Capelle

Guillonneau²,

Nouvian³

et al. 2015

PeerJ

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Market policies have profound implications for consumers as well as for the management of resources. One of the major concerns in fish trading is species mislabelling: the commercial name used does not correspond to the product, most often because the product is in fact a cheaper or a more easily available species. Substitution rates depend heavily on species, some often being sold mislabelled while others rarely or never mislabelled. Rates also vary largely depending on countries. In this study, we analyse the first market-wide dataset collected for France, the largest sea food market in Europe, for fish species substitution. We sequenced and analysed 371 samples bearing 55 commercial species names, collected in fishmonger shops, supermarkets and restaurants; the largest dataset assembled to date in an European country. Sampling included fish fillets, both fresh and frozen, and prepared meals. We found a total of 14 cases of mislabelling in five species: bluefin tuna, cod, yellowfin tuna, sole and seabream, setting the overall substitution rate at 3.7% CI [2.2–6.4], one of the lowest observed for comparable surveys with large sampling. We detected no case of species mislabelling among the frozen fillets or in industrially prepared meals, and all the substitutions were observed in products sold in fishmongers shops or restaurants. The rate of mislabelling does not differ between species, except for bluefin tuna. Despite a very small sample size (n = 6), the rate observed for this species (83.3% CI [36–99]) stands in sharp contrast with the low substitution rate observed for the other substituted species. In agreement with studies from other countries, this work shows that fish mislabelling can vary greatly within a country depending on the species. It further suggests that more efforts should be directed to the control of high value species like bluefin tuna.

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“…The mislabelling studies have also had a positive effect on at least some parts of the retail sector [69]. Moreover, meal remnants in CFP cases often cannot be identified without molecular tools, where proper identification is critical for improving the ciguatera affected species list and warnings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Phylogenetic Re-Analysis of Groupers with Applications for Ciguatera Fish Poisoning

et al. 2014

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BackgroundCiguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a significant public health problem due to dinoflagellates. It is responsible for one of the highest reported incidence of seafood-borne illness and Groupers are commonly reported as a source of CFP due to their position in the food chain. With the role of recent climate change on harmful algal blooms, CFP cases might become more frequent and more geographically widespread. Since there is no appropriate treatment for CFP, the most efficient solution is to regulate fish consumption. Such a strategy can only work if the fish sold are correctly identified, and it has been repeatedly shown that misidentifications and species substitutions occur in fish markets.MethodsWe provide here both a DNA-barcoding reference for groupers, and a new phylogenetic reconstruction based on five genes and a comprehensive taxonomical sampling. We analyse the correlation between geographic range of species and their susceptibility to ciguatera accumulation, and the co-occurrence of ciguatoxins in closely related species, using both character mapping and statistical methods.ResultsMisidentifications were encountered in public databases, precluding accurate species identifications. Epinephelinae now includes only twelve genera (vs. 15 previously). Comparisons with the ciguatera incidences show that in some genera most species are ciguateric, but statistical tests display only a moderate correlation with the phylogeny. Atlantic species were rarely contaminated, with ciguatera occurrences being restricted to the South Pacific.ConclusionsThe recent changes in classification based on the reanalyses of the relationships within Epinephelidae have an impact on the interpretation of the ciguatera distribution in the genera. In this context and to improve the monitoring of fish trade and safety, we need to obtain extensive data on contamination at the species level. Accurate species identifications through DNA barcoding are thus an essential tool in controlling CFP since meal remnants in CFP cases can be easily identified with molecular tools.

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Mass Media Influence and the Regulation of Illegal Practices in the Seafood Market

Cited by 33 publications

References 22 publications

Low mislabeling rates indicate marked improvements in European seafood market operations

Low mislabeling rates indicate marked improvements in European seafood market operations

Fish mislabelling in France: substitution rates and retail types

A Phylogenetic Re-Analysis of Groupers with Applications for Ciguatera Fish Poisoning

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