Something is fishy about about the shark products sold at West Australian fish and chip shops — with new research showing ambiguous labels have confused customers about what they are eating.
The new Murdoch University research shows that “shark” fillets sold at WA fish and chip shops are often labelled ambiguously, or in some cases wrongly.
Researchers from the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Environmental and Conservation Sciences, in collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, used DNA testing to analyse 167 cooked shark products bought from 132 fish and chip shops in WA.
The DNA sequencing helped to identify species from cooked “shark” fillets bought between March 2023 and February 2024, identifying 16 species, including 11 shark species.
The findings revealed that more than half (56 per cent) of all products were sold under vague labels such as “shark”, “flake” or “fish and chips” — while 35 per cent of labels were wrong.
The study also found that products sold simply as “shark” comprised species including dusky, gummy and whiskery sharks.
Products sold under species-specific names such as “gummy shark” or “bronze whaler” did not always contain that species.
Only 26 per cent of products bought provided information about where the seafood originated, further limiting consumers’ ability to make informed buying decisions.
Murdoch University researcher and lead author of the study Dr Md Robiul Hasan said the findings highlight a lack of transparency in seafood labelling meant customers couldn’t make informed choices.
“Consumers increasingly want to know what species they are eating, where it comes from and whether it has been sourced sustainably,” Dr Hasan said.
“Our results show that this information is often unavailable or inaccurate when it comes to cooked shark products sold in fish and chip shops in WA.”
However, Dr Hasan said the findings do not necessarily indicate deliberate deception.
“Many of the species identified in this study have similar commercial values, so mislabelling may reflect the complexity of commercial fishing, seafood processing and supply chains rather than intentional substitution,” Dr Hasan said.
The authors say stronger seafood labelling should be implemented to improve transparency in Australia’s seafood supply chain.
“Clearer labelling would help consumers understand exactly what they are buying and support informed decisions about sustainability, health and seafood provenance,” Dr Hasan said.
The researchers recommend measures including mandatory use of standard fish names for cooked seafood products, origin disclosure and routine DNA auditing to improve labelling accuracy.
