Oilfish

Species of fish

Oilfish (Ruvettus pretiosus) are a species of snake mackerel with a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and temperate oceans. They can be found at depths from , but most often between Oilfish can grow to a length of , though most do not exceed It is the only known member of its genus.

Oilfish are large, fusiform fish which often grow to and a maximum of .

Oilfish are distributed throughout tropical and temperate waters across the world, being recorded in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans, including the Mediterranean Sea. They are found in the deep water benthic environments of continental slopes and seamounts, where they group in pairs or remain solitary.

Fisheries targeting Oilfish are rare, occurring in small regions of the Atlantic and Pacific through the use of handlines. However, Oilfish are common bycatch for fisheries targeting Tuna and Swordfish, which employ longlines. Despite their laxative inducing flesh, restaurants sell Oilfish meat under the name "white fish" on account of its texture and flavor.

In January 2007, ParknShop, a supermarket chain in Hong Kong, admitted to selling mislabeled Oilfish in their stores. Over 600 people became sick as a result, suffering from stomach pain and diarrhea. A total of 14 complaints were filed against the supermarket chain, leading to an investigation by the Centre for Food Safety. The fish were originally mislabeled in Indonesia, leading to an investigation and allegations of corruption. ParknShop stopped selling the fish, but argued in court that there was no law against the sale of Oilfish. The supermarket would later plead guilty to 9 charges of inappropriate labelling, and was fined HK$45,000. As a result of the incident, the Centre for Food Safety in Hong Kong published new guidelines on the proper labelling of Oilfish and Escolar to consumers, preventing mislabeling. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 2007 reported several cases in Canada where mislabelled Oilfish was sold at Chinese supermarkets.