Fishing fraud in the Mediterranean

Shark vs Tuna fish - 20th July 2020

Customers are buying shark meat in Europe. They don’t know it is shark. They think it is tuna.

Tuna fish is expensive. There isn’t much tuna in the Mediterranean Sea. Fishing boats are catching sharks. Now, there aren’t many sharks in the sea. People sell the shark meat in markets and restaurants. Customers think it is different fish. They pay a lot of money.

The University of Catania in Italy tested pieces of swordfish. Swordfish is another expensive fish. They found shark meat in the swordfish. This is illegal and dangerous. Many sharks contain chemicals. Customers eat the chemicals. These chemicals are dangerous for people.

Sharks don’t have many babies. They grow slowly. They might all die.

Experts want to control fishing. They want to protect sharks.