On a rainy day in Baltimore, we went fishing from some of our most popular seafood restaurants like Bo Brooks in Canton, M&S Grill at the Inner Harbor, Luna Del Sea on Pratt and Bluestone in Timonium.
We gathered our catch - bronzini, mahi mahi, grilled grouper with capers and a fried grouper sandwich. One of them was not the real thing. Tony Assadi, owner of Luna Del Sea Bistro said, “There are families of fish that look similar to each other."
“No one has documented the expanse of it but it does happen." Lisa Shames with the Government Accountability Office authored a report finding fish fraud is not only costing consumers, in some cases, it's making them physically ill.
“Seafood that was actually puffer fish was labeled monk fish and puffer fish has certain toxic qualities and actually made people sick," Shames explained.
Could one of our own local dishes make you sick?We left that to the scientists, so we took samples of each and
packed them up to be tested in a fish DNA lab.
In fact, ABC2News teamed up with our sister stations in Kansas City, Tampa and Phoenix to test 38 seafood dishes - 23 came back as frauds.
“You may be paying for an expensive fish in fact getting a lower grade fish," said Shames. But it's not only happening in restaurants. From the fisherman to the supplier, there are many people responsible for the swaps; people who are cashing in on the fact that you will never know.
“Where along the chain does the responsibility lie? I asked. “Well, we looked exclusively at the federal government's responsibility," Shames answered. The report found the 3 government agencies in charge of regulating seafood do not share information.
They are the Food and Drug Administration, Customs and Border Patrol and National Marine Fisheries Service. The biggest offender is the FDA. “We know the FDA really only inspects 2% of the seafood coming in," she added.
So how did our fish stand up to the test? Turns out our grilled grouper, priced at more than $25.00, was an Asian Catfish.
So, we went back to Luna Del Sea to find out why. Owner Tony Assadi said he takes pride in knowing his fish and serving only the best. He apologized and said the mistake was a kitchen mix-up
since grouper was on the menu along with catfish.
“Human error by the expeditor would be the only logical thing," he said, “it shouldn't happen.”
So, the next time you head out for a seafood dinner keep in mind: is it real or is it a fake?
To learn what fishes are usually swapped for another click on the link provided. You can also learn how to avoid fish fraud.
