When buying fish, most people check the price, expiration date, and species before putting it in their shopping basket. However, there’s another detail on the label that many shoppers overlook, even though it can reveal useful information about where their seafood originated.

That detail is the FAO fishing zone, a number identifying the broad geographical area where wild fish or other seafood was caught. These codes are used for products such as tuna, cod, swordfish, and certain molluscs and crustaceans. They can be particularly helpful when purchasing frozen, packaged, or preserved seafood because the fishing location isn’t always obvious. The world’s oceans and seas are divided into numbered regions, each representing a different area. Understanding these numbers can help consumers make more informed choices. But one particular zone has attracted additional attention because of concerns following a major environmental disaster. Continue below…