Seafood Fraud: Meat From Threatened Shark Is Being Served in Fish and Chip Shops Across Australia

Some shark species are under threat of extinction, and they are protected. However, one study surprisingly revealed that some are being served in fish and chip shops across Australia.

Threatened Shark Met Sold in Fish And Chip Shops in Australia

Researchers from the University of Adelaide analyzed DNA samples from the meat served at 100 fish and chips shops across the country. They discovered that 23% of the samples contained meat from shark species listed as threatened by The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

The shark species under threat include the mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) and the smooth hammerhead shark (Sphyrna zygaena).

Ashleigh Sharrad, the study's lead author and a research assistant in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide, told Live Science that they were aware that seafood fraud is widespread, and she personally wonders what sharks they are consuming.

Sharrad admitted they were surprised that people in Australia were consuming iconic shark species without their knowledge, including the endangered hammerhead shark. She acknowledged that they knew endangered shark species are globally served to consumers.

Of the samples they analyzed, only 27% contained meat deemed legal for Australian fisheries to label as a flake by the Australian Fish Names Standard, a resource that provides information on the more than 5,000 fish species inhabiting Australian waters.

According to Red Fish Grill, the term "flake" refers to an Australian fish name that only applies to two species of gummy shark (one from Australia and one from New Zealand). But in real life, the word is commonly used to refer to any shark meat, including meats from sharks under threat.

Meanwhile, the study also discovered that only one in 10 retailers could correctly identify the type of fish they sold. On the other hand, 20% of the filets were mislabeled, and the rest had ambiguous labels.

The study will be published in June 2023 issue of the journal Food Control.

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Potential Health Issues When Eating Shark Meat

According to Sharrad, shark meat can contain high levels of mercury and other toxins. She added that larger species and those higher up on the food chain had accumulated metals and other toxins.

Mercury is dangerous for pregnant women because the developing fetal brain is extremely sensitive to it and can cause long-term issues with cognitive development, Sharksider added.

Aside from mercury, shark meat could contain arsenic and lead.

Some studies have found shark meats with toxic levels for human consumption; that's why there are terms like "flake." However, according to Sharrad, this does not inform consumers whether they are eating species potentially harmful to their health.

Also, consuming sharks destroy the environment. Every year about 100 million sharks are killed by the fishing industry. They eat mid-level predators that eat herbaceous fish that eat algae. Without them, mid-level predator fish will thrive, and algae will grow freely.