WELLINGTON, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Self-declared environmental claims on seafood labels such as "sustainably sourced," "responsibly fished" or "dolphin safe" found in New Zealand supermarkets are vague, ambiguous and meaningless, a new study showed on Thursday.
Among the 369 packaged fish and seafood products the study looked into, such as canned tuna, vacuum-packed salmon, or frozen fish, 41 percent had environmental claims on their labels and, of those that did make claims, 80 percent were ambiguous.
"They are implying an environmental benefit, but are vague and therefore meaningless," said the study's lead author Kathryn Bradbury, senior research fellow at the University of Auckland.
Vague claims can be difficult to make sense of and can easily mislead consumers, Bradbury said, adding that the study indicated widespread greenwashing by fish and seafood manufacturers.
The researchers from the universities of Auckland and Otago, and AgroParisTech, France, found that 48 percent of the products did not state the harvest location and almost all did not state the harvest method, such as pole and line caught, mid-water trawled or dredged.
It is important that what is on the label is accurate, specific and clear, as New Zealand consumers prefer to get their information about seafood at the point of purchase, Bradbury said.
The study calls for more proactive enforcement of existing regulations in New Zealand so that manufacturers are more environmentally responsible and consumers are not misled.
Regulation around labeling of fish and seafood products also needs to be strengthened to encourage transparency around fishing practices, Bradbury said. ■