Research is currently underway to develop a biochemical method to distinguish wild (illegally caught) from cultured fish. The objective is to use fatty acid compositional differences to differentiate wild from cultured fish. Results indicate that in addition to linoleic acid (18:2n6), differences in the concentrations of other long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linolenic acid (18:3n3), arachidonic acid (20: 4n6) , docosapentaenoic acid (22: 5n6) , and docosahexaenoic acid (22: 6n3) could also be used to help distinguish wild from cultured fish.

Technical Memorandum

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)