Fraud is rampant in fish supply chains, New York AG finds

Seafood mislabeling — often referred to as "fish fraud" — is a known and rampant phenomenon. But understanding the size of the problem does not help to determine where in the supply chain the subterfuge takes place — or begins for that matter. The incentive at any link in the supply chain is pretty clear. If the customer can't tell the difference, then a cheaper species can be sold as a more expensive one with little or no recourse.  The report caveats that labeling error, intentional or not, can take place at every link in the chain going back to the boat. Knowledge of the product isn't spread equally up and down the supply chain. Ignorance, after all, is what allows the fraud to persist, and consumers are not the only ones guilty of not knowing what the species they've chosen should look like.