You may think you know what you're getting when you buy fish, but research shows that a full third of them are mislabeled. That's why scientists in London are developing a device that will scan your fish and tell you exactly what species it is.

The team, comprised of developers Yassine Santissi and Sam Mbale, created an infrared spectrometer to scan a fish at the molecular level, along with software that identifies patterns in the infrared waves that can be used to uniquely identify a fish species. This type of software is also used in the popular music app Shazam, leading the developers to call their product Fishazam , because of course they did.

Mislabeling of fish is a big problem and not just because the result is people paying more for crappy fish. It also makes tracking global fish populations harder because agencies can't rely on sales data to determine whether a certain population is healthy, and it makes it easier to sell poached seafood. As a result, a fish could be threatened or endangered without governments even being aware of the problem.

The developers hope that Fishazam will bring a much-needed tool to a fish market with little accountability. The team is planning to build a database of spectrographic analyses of fish species for use by governments and retailers, and provide a referral service that recommends trustworthy fish markets.

Fishazam is a finalist in the Fishackathon , an event run by the US Department of State that encourages developers to create tools to promote sustainable fishing. The grand prize is $10,000, and the winner will be announced tomorrow.

Source: Hakai Magazine

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