Seafood Solutions Fined $1M For Labeling Frozen Catfish As Grouper

LOS ANGELES -- Federal prosecutors say a Torrance, Calif.-based seafood corporation has been ordered to pay $1 million in fines and community service donations for falsely labeling frozen catfish fillets as grouper.

U.S. attorney's office spokesman Thom Mrozek says Seafood Solutions Inc. was fined $700,000 on Monday, and ordered to donate $300,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Seafood Solutions and two defendants were convicted on July 25, 2011, for trafficking in fish known to be transported and sold in violation of the U.S. Lacey Act.

Co-defendants Chau-Shing Lin and Christopher Ragone have pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 13.

The charitable donation is to be used to fund projects related to methodologies, databases and other research into the identification of marine organisms.

Comments

[Mark Clemons]

10:19 AM on 02/08/2012

Went to a fish market in palm desert and orderd mai mai and was served tilapia, funny when big resturants get ripped off big brother steps in when the citizen gets defrauded they are no where in site

[MyResponsibility]

02:40 PM on 02/10/2012

Did you say anything to the manager?  Mahi and tilapia are not remotely similar in appearance, shape, texture, thickness, flavor, etc.  I never let a restaurant cheat me - I'm in the seafood business and always ask what the country of origin of a seafood item is.  I was in a restaurant the other day and inquired the country of origin on grouper (very often mis-identified by restaurants) - their answer was Japan.  I didn't order it - Grouper NEVER comes from Japan (I can't think of any fish in the US that does...).  If you have an iPhone or an Adroid phone, download the Seafood Watch seafood guide from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  When ordering seafood, pull up the app and make educated decisions.

[Mark Clemons]

10:46 PM on 02/10/2012

I agree had to get a little loud,

[gth0579]

02:51 PM on 02/07/2012

I went to a fancy schmancy restaurant, with all the poof and circumstance and ordered an expensive fish dish. I am willing to swear it was just frozen catfish nuggets, either that or all fish seems to taste like catfish nowadays. No matter how much they try to smother it with whatever, I can always tell.

[Donatella]

12:59 PM on 02/07/2012

This is just the tip of the iceberg of fraud and it will increase dramatically once the "de-regulation" right wing takes over the White House.

[traceymarie]

12:49 PM on 02/07/2012

Good news, I went to buy fish in the keyes and they had trigger fish labeled as tile.

[Gus DiZerega]

12:34 PM on 02/07/2012

Fines for businesses that knowingly violate the law should include ALL their gross profits plus damages. Starting not with little guys like these crooks, but with the oil and banking industries.