EarthTalk – Shrimp Fraud: Why Your Seafood Might Not Be What the Label Claims
Published 5:00 am Monday, February 23, 2026
Dear EarthTalk: What is “shrimp fraud?” Why is it bad for the environment and local economies and how are we combating it? — Michelle G., Seattle, WA
Shrimp is one of the most popular seafood choices worldwide. “We eat over one billion pounds of shrimp [annually in the U.S.],” Kimberly Warner, senior scientist of Oceana, tells The Guardian. Producers mislabel or misrepresent shrimp products to deceive buyers about their species, origin or sustainability. This deceptive practice misleads consumers and harms the environment, the economy and public health.
Shrimp fraud takes various forms, including species substitution, where lower-quality or cheaper shrimp species are sold as…
PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.