Almost Half Of All Sushi In LA Is Mislabeled, According To Study On Seafood Fraud

Think you're getting the real thing when you dine on high-end sushi in Los Angeles? Think again.

A new UCLA and Loyola Marymount University study determined that almost half of all sushi served in Los Angles restaurants is mislabeled. After studying 364 samples from 26 sushi restaurants in the Los Angeles area, scientists concluded that 47 percent of the sushi and raw fish was mislabeled.

"Fish fraud could be accidental, but I suspect that in some cases the mislabeling is very much intentional, though it's hard to know where in the supply chain it begins," said Paul Barber, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCLA, and senior author of the study. "I suspected we would find some mislabeling, but I didn't think it would be as high as we found in some species."

Seafood fraud is not new, nor it is confined to Los Angeles. In late 2015, a separate study found rampant mislabeling in sushi restaurants in San Diego.

President Obama signed a bill last month that would combat seafood fraud and illegal fishing.