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The environmental advocacy group Oceana released a report on Thursday about the widespread mislabeling of shrimp sold in U.S. restaurants and grocery stores. Based on DNA analysis, they found that 35 percent were mislabeled either by species or by type (farmed vs. wild caught).

Shrimp is the most eaten seafood in the U.S. with Americans consuming 3.8 pounds of shrimp per capita. But according to Oceana, we’re not always eating what we think we’re eating. They found that New York City was the worst offender with 43 percent of shrimp mislabeled and Washington, D.C. was close behind. Portland, OR, had the lowest rate of mislabeling at only five percent.

Mislabeling of seafood presents a number of issues. For the consumer, wild-caught shrimp is generally a healthier option than farmed shrimp, because most farmed shrimp come from Southeast Asia and India, where regulations are less stringent and toxic chemicals that are banned in the U.S. may be used. Mislabeling seafood also complicates sustainability efforts.

The Obama Administration has promised to propose new rules for the seafood industry by the end of 2014 and specifics for this are expected in December.

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