Report | August, 2021
Seafood Fraud in Canada: 2021 Testing Results Report
Canada still has a seafood fraud problem.
In spring 2021, Oceana Canada conducted another round of DNA testing and found that seafood fraud is still a big problem – 46 per cent of the seafood samples we tested were mislabelled. This is just one percentage point off from the 47 per cent mislabelling rate found among 472 samples Oceana Canada tested between 2017 and 2019. Without action, Canada will continue to lag behind other countries when it comes to tackling seafood fraud.
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 press release
• Watch the campaign video
• Sign the petition calling on the government to stop seafood fraud
• Read the 2018 national seafood testing report and Untraceable: The Consequences of Canada’s Poorly Regulated Supply Chain
• Learn more our campaign to end seafood fraud