Are you aware of the fish you eat?
Bogota, March 2024. The MarViva Foundation evaluated the degree of transparency and honesty in the market for fish products packaged in Bogota, taking two components into account: a) veracity and completeness of the information provided on the labels, and b) verification of the taxonomic identity of the species marketed concerning the information provided. The investigation started in 2021 and 2022 in 22 of Bogota’s establishments and collected 114 samples from 36 of the city’s fish merchants.
The analysis concludes that only a few products have complete label information that accurately identifies the product, its origin, and traceability. Over half of these fish-merchandising companies do not include enough information about each product’s traceability on their labels. In addition, they progressively fail to comply with the existing legal regulations about the labeling of food products, specifically the Consumer Statute (Law 1480, 2011) and INVIMA Resolution 109 of 2005.
Even though the study demonstrated that practically 100% of fishing product labels mention the generic name of the fish species included in the packaging (e.g., sea bass, snapper, catfish, hake, corvina), these names did not always match with the product’s real identity, which was determined through DNA gene sequencing. Adding on to this, just one fourth of fishing products’ labels sold in Bogotá’s markets mention the species’ scientific name, which prevents consumers from knowing whether it corresponds to an endangered species.
In summary, these findings reflect the lack of precise information on labels and the commercial process, which represents significant obstacles to promoting sustainable and responsible fishing. They not only limit the consumer’s capability to make informed decisions but also make it difficult to support the conservation of marine resources.
According to Juan Manuel Díaz, program coordinator of the MarViva Foundation, “In a transparent market, the consumer must be able to count on adequate and reliable information to make decisions through products that provide truthful and complete information”.
The MarViva Foundation will continue advocating for transparent and sustainable practices in the seafood market. It will also continue to call for action to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information provided on labels so that consumers can make more informed choices.
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