# Catching fish mislabelling

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-fish-mislabelling/531209>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [March 3, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-fish-mislabelling/531209 "2010-03-03T23:56:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\
**Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-fish-mislabelling/531209/1 "2010-03-03T23:56:09Z")

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In Cecil’s column from January 29th of this year, at [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2920/followup](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2920/followup) , Cecil quotes Jacquet and Pauly as saying:

> [@](#):
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> Species are mislabeled because there is a shortage of the desired species or because the species itself was illegally caught (illegal, because there is a shortage).

Well, guess what! The folks over at Agilent Technologies have just unvelied a hand-held _fish species identifier_ that uses the fish meat’s DNA. The (rather glowing, and probably optimistic) press release is here: [http://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/presrel/2010/01mar-ca10014.html](http://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/presrel/2010/01mar-ca10014.html)

I’ve seen the pictures of the thing. It’s about an inch-and-a-half on a side and less than a quarter inch thick – although that might jsut be one component of a much larger system. Agilent claims “customers can guarantee their red snapper isn’t rockfish and their halibut isn’t sea bass,” but Agilent’s “customers” might be fish inspectors and not random diners sitting down at a restaurant, for all I know.

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**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\
**Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/catching-fish-mislabelling/531209/2 "2010-03-04T21:50:20Z")

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From the cited article:

> [@](#):
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> The method is far more accurate and robust than existing protein-based tests, and also reduces the time required to confirm species in food from days to **hours**. Routine DNA analysis now becomes feasible for use by seafood processors, distributors, large retailers, public interest organizations and government agencies.

I don’t think I want to sit over my dinner plate for hours waiting for the results. YMMV.