Background. The study is a contribution to Project CELFISH which involves genetic identification of populations of fish species presenting a particular economic importance or having a potential to be used in the so-called commercial substitutions. The EU fish trade has been showing a distinct trend of more and more fish species previously unknown to consumers being placed on the market. Molecular assays have become the only way with which to verify the reliability of exporters. This paper is aimed at pinpointing genetic markers with which to label and differentiate between two populations of splendid alfonsino, Beryx splendens Lowe, 1834, a species highly attractive to consumers in Asia and Oceania due to the meat taste and low fat content. Materials and methods. DNA was isolated from fragments of fins collected at local markets in Japan (MJ) (n = 10) and New Zealand (MNZ) (n = 18). The rhodopsin gene (RH1) fragment and 16 microsatellite DNA fragments (SSR) were analysed in all the individuals. The sequences obtained were processed using the BioEdit and BLAST software, whereas SSR data were processed with the GeAlEX analysis package. Results. The BioEdit software-aided comparison of MJ and MNZ nucleotide sequences of the rhodopsin gene fragments were identical and showed 100% agreement with the alfonsino sequence deposited under access number DQ197832. The preliminary analysis of SSR markers showed all the loci analysed in both populations to be polymorphic, and when randomly selected specimens were assigned to the original populations. The affinity test correctly identified the provenance of all those specimens. Conclusion. The results obtained constitute a tool for molecular differentiation between alfonsino populations collected in the FAO 81 (New Zealand) and FAO 71 (Japan) areas for the purpose of catch quota control and for checking the agreement between the label declaration and the actual product.

conservation genetics, marine resources, seafood authentication, seafood counterfeiting