science
Studies keep finding that a surprising share of fish sold as one species is actually another. To catch this fraud, labs read a short, standardized snippet of an animal's genes.
DNA barcoding is the method labs use to catch seafood fraud, reading a short, standardized snippet of an animal's genetic code and comparing it against a reference library of known species. Because this snippet varies predictably between species but stays consistent within one, it acts like a barcode that can identify what fish is actually in a sample, regardless of how it was labeled.
Carbon dating estimates the age of organic material based on radioactive decay, useful for archaeology, not for identifying which species a piece of fish belongs to. Sound sonar uses echoing sound waves to detect underwater objects or map terrain, a completely different technology from reading genetic sequences.
Studies using DNA barcoding have repeatedly found that a surprisingly large share of fish sold under one name, especially higher-value species, is actually a cheaper substitute, making this genetic tool an important weapon for regulators and consumer advocates fighting seafood fraud worldwide.
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