Study finds shark meat sold in US often mislabeled, includes endangered species
A new study found shark meat sold in the U.S. often comes from endangered species like hammerheads, mislabeled simply as “shark” and poses health risks from high mercury levels.
A fish vendor in a seafood market taking a frozen fish steak out of the refrigerator. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
Shark meat sold in American supermarkets, seafood markets and online retailers is not always what it seems, and in many cases, it comes from species that are critically endangered, according to new research.
Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tested 29 shark meat products purchased from grocery stores, seafood markets and online vendors across the United States. Using DNA barcoding, they found that 93% were sold under vague labels and included meat from 11 different species. The findings were published in Frontiers in Marine Science.
Among the samples were great hammerheads and scalloped hammerheads, both listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Despite their rarity, meat from these sharks was available to U.S. consumers for as little as $2.99 per pound.
A hammerhead shark swims in the ocean. (Photo by Tahsin Ceylan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Mislabeling and ambiguous labeling remove consumers’ ability to choose what they are putting in their bodies,” said Savannah Ryburn, Ph.D., first author of the study and co-instructor of the seafood forensics class that conducted the research. She noted that hammerheads in particular are considered unsafe to eat due to very high mercury levels.
Of the 29 products examined, 27 were labeled simply as “shark” or “mako shark.” Even one of the two samples that included a species name turned out to be incorrectly identified.
“The United States should require seafood distributors to provide species-specific names for the products being sold,” said John Bruno, Ph.D., a distinguished professor at UNC and co-instructor of the seafood forensics class.
The health risks are as concerning as the ecological ones. Shark meat is known to contain elevated levels of mercury, posing risks especially for children and pregnant people.
“Sharks such as great and scalloped hammerheads are the ocean’s equivalent of lions, and we were shocked by how cheaply the meat of these rare, long-lived apex predators was sold,” Ryburn said.
The researchers say the findings add to a growing body of work showing the need for stricter labeling rules to protect consumers and threatened shark populations alike.
TMX contributed to this report.
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