MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tasty Chilean sea bass may be an illegal catch.

Chilean sea bass is moist, flaky and buttery -- and if you buy it at the store or in a restaurant, there's a good chance it was illegally caught, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Environmental Trust.

The report found that between December 2002 and June 2003, 13 percent more of the cold water fish made it into the United States than was reported to Customs.

The black market trade is flourishing because of "loopholes" in the monitoring system that allow for fraudulent permits and mislabeling or vague labeling of the fish as "white fish" or "sea bass," among other schemes, the report said.

"Restaurants, grocery stores or consumers have no way of knowing whether Chilean sea bass is legal, so we encourage Americans to continue to take a pass on Chilean sea bass," said Pam Blackledge of the Washington, D.C.-based group, which has deemed the fish "threatened."

Chilean sea bass isn't bass at all but a cold water species called Tuesday by the National Environmental Trust. The report found that between December 2002 and June 2003, 13 percent more of the cold water fish made it into the United States than was reported to Customs.

The black market trade is flourishing because of "loopholes" in the monitoring system that allow for fraudulent permits and mislabeling or vague labeling of the fish as "white fish" or "sea bass," among other schemes, the report said.

"Restaurants, grocery stores or consumers have no way of knowing whether Chilean sea bass is legal, so we encourage Americans to continue to take a pass on Chilean sea bass," said Pam Blackledge of the Washington, D.C.-based group, which has deemed the fish "threatened."

Chilean sea bass isn't bass at all but a cold water species called Patagonian toothfish. After marketers renamed it the more appealing "Chilean sea bass" in the 1980s, it took off on restaurant menus.

In 2002, the National Environmental Trust launched a national campaign, "Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass, calling on chefs and consumers to boycott the tasty fish because of overfishing. About 40 Chicago restaurants refuse to serve it.

The 24-country Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources regulates trade of Chilean sea bass through a system that requires that catch documents accompany all imports into member countries. Compliance, however, "has proven entirely inadequate," the report said.

Government officials beg to differ. Susan Buchanan, spokeswoman for NOAA Fisheries, the agency that oversees U.S. imports, points to recent stateside seizures of illegally caught Chilean sea bass and a ban implemented last year by NOAA on imports from two areas in the waters around Antarctica known as hotspots for poachers.

"We do acknowledge there are Chilean sea bass poachers. In most cases, we know who they are and where they operate, so our job is to continue to improve on our domestic regulations," Buchanan said. "We feel confident with the regulations that are in place and we're constantly . . . looking for ways to adjust."

Chicago restaurants that do serve the fish say they trust the word of their seafood providers.

"I buy my products from a company where I've been buying for a long, long time, and I'm pretty sure they don't sell anything that is illegal," said Stefano Sassi, co-owner of Merlo on Maple, which occasionally offers a Chilean sea bass special (Chicago Sun Times) . After marketers renamed it the more appealing "Chilean sea bass" in the 1980s, it took off on restaurant menus.

In 2002, the National Environmental Trust launched a national campaign, "Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass, calling on chefs and consumers to boycott the tasty fish because of overfishing. About 40 Chicago restaurants refuse to serve it.

The 24-country Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources regulates trade of Chilean sea bass through a system that requires that catch documents accompany all imports into member countries. Compliance, however, "has proven entirely inadequate," the report said.

Government officials beg to differ. Susan Buchanan, spokeswoman for NOAA Fisheries, the agency that oversees U.S. imports, points to recent stateside seizures of illegally caught Chilean sea bass and a ban implemented last year by NOAA on imports from two areas in the waters around Antarctica known as hotspots for poachers.

"We do acknowledge there are Chilean sea bass poachers. In most cases, we know who they are and where they operate, so our job is to continue to improve on our domestic regulations," Buchanan said. "We feel confident with the regulations that are in place and we're constantly . . . looking for ways to adjust."

Chicago restaurants that do serve the fish say they trust the word of their seafood providers.

"I buy my products from a company where I've been buying for a long, long time, and I'm pretty sure they don't sell anything that is illegal," said Stefano Sassi, co-owner of Merlo on Maple, which occasionally offers a Chilean sea bass special (Chicago Sun Times)