Halifax prides itself on the quality of its seafood, but 38 per cent of the seafood samples from this city were mislabelled (34 samples out of 89). Seventy-one per cent of the substituted samples (24 out of 34) were cheaper varieties than the fish named on the label, including catfish sold as seabass; yellowfin tuna sold as bluefin tuna; and crayfish sold as rock lobster.

Fifty-nine per cent of these substitutions (20 samples out of 34) have health implications for the consumers, including Japanese amberjack sold as yellowtail; escolar sold as butterfish or white tuna; and tilapia sold as snapper.

COD CON

Thought you were buying iconic Atlantic cod? In fact, that fish may have been Pacific cod flown in from the West Coast, readily available haddock or cheaper pollock. More than one-third of the Atlantic cod samples tested (5 out of 13) were mislabelled. As a result, consumers may think Atlantic cod populations are more abundant than they actually are.