The move by Government fishery officials is aimed at making sure shoppers and restaurant customers know whether the fish they eat is locally-caught or imported.

Department of Agriculture regulations say fish must be labelled as either local or foreign. But many restaurants and stores are breaking the rules, the department says.

"The labelling regulations are designed to better inform the purchasing public as to what they are buying,'' said fisheries officer Mr. Craig Trott, who does spot checks on establishments to enforce the rules.

"A lot of restaurants are putting `wahoo' or `dolphin' and not qualifying it as being local or imported. Some people might assume it's local when it might not be.

"We would just like more people on the retail side to bear these things in mind. It's good marketing practice. Fish is no longer a commodity for the poor man. It's a commodity for everyone and we would like to see things run on an even keel.'' As well as helping the public the regulations were aimed at aiding Bermuda's fishermen, said Mr. Trott. "Some fishermen have trouble selling local fish to establishments that are buying imported fish, perhaps more cheaply,''.