Stop Seafood Fraud
Canada still has a seafood fraud problem
Seafood fraud and mislabelling have been found in 46% of samples tested across Canada
The Campaign
Seafood fraud hurts our health, our wallets and our oceans. In order to stop seafood fraud, the Canadian government must implement full boat-to-plate traceability. This is the only way to ensure all seafood sold in Canada is safe, honestly labelled and legally caught.
Take action now to help #StopSeafoodFraud
Seafood fraud is any activity that misrepresents a seafood product being sold. It affects public health and food safety, cheats consumers and hurts honest, law-abiding fishers and seafood businesses. It also undermines the environmental and economic sustainability of wild fish populations and even masks global human rights abuses by creating a market for illegally caught fish.
In spring 2021, Oceana Canada conducted its latest DNA investigation into seafood fraud and found that it is still a big problem in Canada – 46 per cent of samples from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax were mislabelled. This is just one percentage point difference from the 47 per cent mislabeling rate found among 472 samples Oceana Canada tested between 2017 and 2019, and consistent with earlier studies in Canada and globally. Read the latest report here.
Canadians overwhelmingly support seafood traceability and want the government to act. Eighty-seven per cent are concerned about purchasing seafood that is mislabelled, up from 76 per cent in 2020, and 86 per cent are concerned about the government’s failure to address seafood mislabelling and illegal fishing in Canada.
Seafood fraud hurts our health, our oceans, and our wallets.
In 2019, the Canadian government committed to implementing a boat-to-plate seafood traceability system, but almost two years later, has still not put forward a plan or timeline for doing so.
Canada’s seafood supply chain remains opaque, with weak traceability standards. By fulfilling its commitment, the government can keep illegal fish out of the Canadian market and protect our health, our oceans, our wallets and our seafood industry.
Canadians deserve to feel confident that their seafood is safe, honestly labelled and legally caught.
Read the latest report
Sign our petition
Hear from top chefs and industry leaders
Seafood should to be honestly labelled and fully traceable from boat to plate
What We Do
Oceana Canada
We are an independent charity committed to rebuilding Canada’s oceans by winning policy victories that increase biodiversity and abundance through science-based fisheries management. We do this by running campaigns – leveraging law, science, grassroots mobilization and communications – designed to achieve specific policy outcomes that will make a difference for the health of our oceans. Oceana Canada is focused on stopping overfishing, rebuilding fish populations, reducing bycatch, protecting habitat and ending seafood fraud.
Oceana around the World
We are proud to be affiliated with the international family of Oceana organizations. Oceana, Inc., founded in 2001, is the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation. The Oceana family includes organizations in Brazil, Belize, Chile, the European Union, Peru, the Philippines and the United States. Globally, Oceana has won more than 100 victories and protected more than 2.5 million square kilometres of habitat.