It’s seafood with a side of technology. Called Trace and Trust, the pilot program is one of several tracking fish from the boat to the customer’s plate as concerns grow over mislabeling of seafood and the sustainability of fishing practices.
“This is a bottom-up way to know where your fish is coming from,’’ said Arnold. “We were aware of the problems with seafood fraud.’’
Efforts to authenticate fish have been around for about 15 years. The Marine Stewardship Council, for example, created certification standards for wild fish that have healthy populations and are caught using environmentally friendly methods.
But such programs do not always guarantee the fish is what a consumer believes it to be. In August, Clemson University researchers published a study that found three of the 36 Chilean sea bass it tested were a different species, though they had all been certified through the stewardship council. The council says that it is investigating the findings but that several studies it commissioned give it confidence that the supply chain is intact.
Relatively inexpensive DNA-testing technology became available about five years ago, and some food businesses soon began using it to verify the identity of fish they bought. But William Gergits, cofounder of Therion International, a New York DNA-testing company that did follow-up testing for the Globe, said the faltering economy caused many companies to drop the safeguard. Such testing can cost restaurant chains, wholesalers, and distributors tens of thousands of dollars a year.
Instead of doing DNA testing, Legal Sea Foods, the Boston-based restaurant chain, buys fish as close as possible to the boat that caught it. The company purchases most of its wild fish directly from boats or at fish auctions, mainly from Gloucester or New Bedford, said chief executive Roger Berkowitz.
