Currents Fall 2012 Newsletter - Volume XXVII, Number 2

5 Fish Tested for Authenticity in Restaurants This year, Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D. , OC professor, advised and worked with international ocean conservation organization, OCEANA. This prominent NGO sampled 61 Florida seafood businesses. The results showed that there was a one in three chance of a customer actually getting the fish that he or she ordered. “Red Snapper is almost always substituted for something else well over 80 percent of the time,” states Shivji. “It is out-and-out consumer fraud.” There are potential health risks in these substitutions too, since substitutes are often contaminated with pollutants. Fish substitutions were found in all levels of restaurants. While there are regulations to protect consumers, there is little oversight. As part of this investigation, ABC news reported that less than 0.001 percent of all inspections cover fraudulent labeling. Center of ExcellenceWins Building Award Moss & Associates has won the Design-Build Institute of America’s Best Overall award in the Education Category in Florida for the construction of the OC’s Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research facility. The Design-Build Institute of America is the only organization that defines, teaches, and promotes best practices in design-build. Design-build is an integrated approach that delivers design and construction services under one contract with a single point of responsibility. Oceanographic Center Studies Swordfish in Florida Straits The Florida Straits, located between the Florida Keys and Cuba and between Florida and the Bahamas, are the ideal breeding ground for swordfish in North America. Since 2001, this fishery has been highly regulated after overfishingdecimated the swordfishpopulation. One practice banned in the Straits was “long line fishing”, where 1,000 hooks on a single line were used to catch large numbers of fish. Currently, juvenile swordfish measuring 47 inches or less must be released. OC M.S. student Jenny Fenton , with Research Scientist David Kerstetter, Ph.D. , tagged, caught, and released juvenile swordfish and tracked their survival rates. Of the 16 fish caught and released, five died within a day. Nine survived without problems. With the federal wildlife authorities considering relating some of the swordfish restrictions, Fenton’s findings are important to maintaining this fishery. One potential decision is whether or not to allow recreational fishermen to sell their catches commercially. While the local swordfish stocks have returned to healthier levels, catch- and-release fishing has resulted in some juvenile swordfish deaths. Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D. Swordfish To allow recreational fishermen to sell their catch could negatively impact this fishery. Fenton states, “If this happens, the number of juvenile swordfish caught could skyrocket in the Florida Straits.” This study was sponsored by the NOAA Fisheries Service.