Snapper or Bream? -本物のタイを食べタイ？-

I found a very interesting article in today's Chicago Sun Times. It reported the survey which showed that what was served in sushi restaurants in Chicago as "red snapper" was often times mislabeled and was actually tilapia, a look-alike of red snapper. The article says this is called "fish fraud" and is equivalent to $2000 fine. The amount tells that this is a serious problem, but indeed it is, especially for sushi lovers in the United States. Customers are not getting what they ordered. What could be worse than that? I understand that some restaurants never know what they serve is not exactly what it is labeled because they have no choice but to offer what they have. I also think that sushi lovers should know what kind of fish is served. I don't mean to turn a joyous moment of tasting sushi to a biology class, but it's interesting to take a look at different species of fish. (Yeah, as a kid I was crazy about fish and even owned a huge encyclopedia particularly about fish. My apron reads "Crazy Fish", too...) So, anyway, for all the sushi lovers in the United States, make sure you are getting the right fish by taking a closer look at it. And don't forget, it's always good to have a Japanese friend, so ask him or her for advice. Everyone, enjoy your sushi and try one if you've never had one before!

P.S. Can you tell which one is "red sea bream" in the picture?

本日１０日付のシカゴ・サン・タイムズに面白い記事が載っていたので今日はそれについて話したいと思います。

同紙の調査によれば、シカゴにある寿司レストランのほとんどが「ティラピア」を「レッド・スナッパー」と称して提供しているとのことです。レッド・スナッパーといえば高級魚ですが、ティラピアは比較的安く手に入りなおかつ味もレッド・スナッパーに似ているので混同されるのも無理はないかもしれません。（もちろん見ただけで違いを判断できる人もいます！）このような魚名の偽装表示は２０００ドルもの罰金が課される重大な詐欺なのですが、もっともネタの供給元が同じで、なおかつ漁獲制限の掛かっている種類の魚となると、このような問題が起こるのも仕方のないことなのかもしれません。我々消費者側の対策としてはやはり出された品を見定めて実際に注文したものが皿に載っているか確かめる必要がありそうです。魚をあまり頻繁に食べない人などはすし屋に足繁く通う友人などと一緒に食べに入ることをお勧めします。もちろんせっかくの楽しいひとときを魚種に関する生物学の講義で台無しにするつもりはありませんが、やはり本当に寿司を楽しんで食べるためにはまず魚について深く知ることが大事なのではないでしょうか？

ちなみに写真に写ってる寿司の中にタイはあるでしょうか？