Federal legislation mandating stores to identify the country of origin and distinguish between farmed and wild fish on the product label took effect April 4, shortly after a New York Times reporter found that fish in six out of eight stores in that city that were labeled as wild were actually farmed. The Country Of Origin Label program was championed by Sen. Ted Stevens and heartily supported by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, which collects a fish tax used to promote Alaskan seafood worldwide. The Anchorage Daily News reported last week that a New York Times reporter bought salmon clearly labeled and sold as wild at eight stores for an average of $19 per pound and a high of $29 per pound and sent them to a lab for testing.

Farmed salmon sells for $5 to $12 per pound in those same stores. The lab tested for artificial coloring which is used to give the flesh of farmed fish a reddish color resembling that of wild fish. The results of the test confirmed the skepticism of the reporter who had suspicions about so many stores selling "wild Alaska salmon" in March. Depending upon how strictly the COOL rules are enforced, such mislabeling could prove extremely costly. The legislation allows for fines of up to $10,000 per incident, meaning that if two fillets in a display case are mislabeled, the fine could be $20,000.

Wild Alaska salmon may be a victim of its own success. With publications such as USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor printing stories that romanticize Alaska salmon fishermen and promote the allure of the pristine waters where the fish are caught, more and more Americans are asking for a product that is only available fresh for a few months of the year. The temptation to peddle farmed fish as wild to an unsuspecting public (at a much higher price) could be great. The COOL program is designed to prevent such deception, but retailers are already complaining of the high cost and added work load of complying with the new rules. Documenting where a product came from and how it was caught requires changes in sales and labeling. Stores will have to train staff, develop new record-keeping and upgrade technology. The cost to retailers is expected to be in the tens of millions nationwide, especially for the first year. The program only covers raw fish and shellfish for this year, but will expand to cover other agricultural products in 2006.

According to the National Register, the term "wild" fish means naturally born or hatchery-raised fish and shellfish harvested in the wild, including a fillet, steak, nugget and any other flesh from wild fish or shellfish. The term "farm-raised" means fillets, steaks, nuggets and any other flesh from a farm-raised fish or shellfish. To carry the U.S. country of origin label, farmed fish and shellfish must be derived exclusively from fish or shellfish hatched, raised and processed in the United States. Food markets that carry a full range of grocery products are subject to the law. Specialty fish markets and butcher stores are exempt. The labeling requirement doesn't pertain to fish sold in restaurants.

The Alaska Marine Advisory Program, with Alaska, Oregon, and Washington Sea Grant programs, has released the Fisherman's Direct Marketing Manual. This book will help fishermen decide whether to direct-market their catch and tell them how to avoid potential pitfalls of direct marketing. Chapters address strategies for distributing seafood, finding domestic and international customers for the catch, packaging and shipping seafood products, the basics of business planning and other important topics. Based on an earlier edition, the Alaska Fisherman's Direct Marketing Manual, this book has updated information and a much wider geographic focus for fishermen in Washington, Oregon and California. It can be viewed in its entirety online at the Sea Grant Web site at http://www.uaf.edu/seagrant/index.html, and follow the "bookstore" link, or ordered by mail by calling (888) 789-0090. The book is free, but there is a $3 charge for postage.

Cristy Fry has commercial fished in Homer since 1978, and has also designed and built gear for the industry. She currently longlines for halibut and sablefish, and gillnets salmon in Upper Cook Inlet aboard the F/V Realist.