In 2004, a team of scientists in my research lab, then at the University of North Carolina, used DNA sequencing to show that at least 60% of fish sold as red snapper in markets across the U.S. were mislabeled and were other species. The seafood industry responded by saying seafood substitutions were “not common” and described our results as “overstated.”

Ten years later, it’s commonly accepted that seafood mislabeling is epidemic. Another DNA-based investigation, by ocean conservation organization Oceana, last year showed that one-third of more than 1,200 fish tested in the U.S. were not truthfully labeled according to U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines.

What about red snapper? A whopping 93% of fish labeled “red snapper” in the 2013 study were found to be species other than Lutjanus campechanus, the FDA’s legally designated common name for red snapper. Today, your “red snapper” could be one of at least 28 different species, including much less desirable fish such as tilapia and pollock.