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mugwump1948

(3 posts)
1. Most every fish is Alashan pollack
Sat May 25, 2019, 02:38 PM
May 2019

Unless you have instant dna kit most white fish filets are Alaskan pollack, farm raised, not wild caught. There is also a lot of Tilapia out there passed off as wild caught. Not so, all farm raised.

LuvNewcastle

(16,820 posts)
7. Swai isn't a bad-tasting fish, I have some in my freezer.
Sat May 25, 2019, 03:24 PM
May 2019

But that isn't the point. Restaurants shouldn't pull sleazy tricks like that on their customers. I don't mind eating swai at the house but if I go out, I want to get the catfish I ordered just like I want my steak to be beef, not horseflesh.

 

bitterross

(4,066 posts)
8. Biggest Shock of the story - Tampa was honest
Sat May 25, 2019, 03:53 PM
May 2019

The most shocking thing I saw in the story was that FL restaurants were the honest ones.

soryang

(3,299 posts)
9. Florida consumers especially on the coasts are more likely to know
Sat May 25, 2019, 04:12 PM
May 2019

...and recognize what they're eating, believe it or not, so why bother lying? It will hurt your business. A lot of restaurants are just down the block or right next to the marina and fish markets where everyone knows what's available and what isn't and what the market prices for different fish are. The waitress will usually tell you what isn't available.

The fisherman and retail people are sitting at the bar in the seaford restaurants and know exactly what is going on. Their significant others are probably waitresses there or cooks.

Of course, I'm talking about sit down restaurants not fast food. Who knows what you're getting there.

Submariner

(12,485 posts)
10. When you order Scallops, some restaurants substitute it with skate
Sat May 25, 2019, 04:45 PM
May 2019

The cook using a round cookie cutter and pushes out the skate fins into scallops.

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,483 posts)
13. That's what fishermen told me when I worked in SC on the coast.
Sat May 25, 2019, 06:45 PM
May 2019

They called the source "stinger ray wings" and said the people that do that even use various size cookie cutters to fool customers. They also taught me that if food sold as scallops don't have that little tough portion in the muscle, it's probably not a scallop.

Ironically, I just read in a Wiki article that rays are the main predator of bay scallops.

cab67

(2,963 posts)
12. this is also not unique to fish
Sat May 25, 2019, 06:23 PM
May 2019

DNA-based surveys of whale meat sold in parts of Asia showed that it was very often not the species it was supposed to be. In fact, it wasn't always even whale - it was sometimes sheep or horse. These countries are allowed to use beached whale carcasses (if they're fresh enough), so it isn't necessarily evidence that whaling fleets are killing protected species, but it does call for extra monitoring.

The same is true for caviar. The species on the label is not always the species in the jar. It could be paddlefish (related to sturgeon, but not sturgeon), or it could be a very endangered species of sturgeon from central Asia.

Aussie105

(5,215 posts)
14. Supply chain switching?
Sat May 25, 2019, 09:43 PM
May 2019

Most restaurants order fish in from outside suppliers, already filleted, and take what they get.

You wouldn't see someone working at a restaurant and an expert in fish species at a local fish market buying whole, fresh fish for the restaurant, would you?

But it would be the only way a honest restaurant could guarantee the customer gets what is on the menu.

It's a story done frequently here in Australia. A popular fish here is barramundi, an inland fresh water fish. But don't bother ordering it in a restaurant, chances are you are not going to get what you asked for.
But what restaurant is going to say 'Sorry, no barramundi, but we have Hoki, at half the price'?
Nope, you will get a cheaper fish but still pay the higher price.

sandensea

(21,530 posts)
17. Reminds me of a disreputable (but very popular) fish joint in Laguna Beach
Sat May 25, 2019, 10:41 PM
May 2019

They were notorious for making their signature dish - Lobster tacos - out of shrimp.

But they did them up so well, no one cared.

On a more personal note, it's so good to see you back and at'em Yuiyoshida!

Hugs, and All the Best.

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