Sea of Deception | I-CADMUS — The book by Roy D. Palmer

Sea of Deception.

In a world where seafood nourishes billions yet hides billions in deception — this is the unvarnished truth, and the tools to fight back. The book that founded the I-CADMUS framework.

By Hon Prof Roy D. Palmer, MBA · CEO, Seafood Consumer Association

Pages320 approx.

PublisherSCA Press

EditionFirst, 2026

ISBNForthcoming

From the Author

A book that started with one question.

After fifty years in the seafood industry, I kept coming back to the same observation: the same kinds of fraud were happening over and over, in every market I worked in, under different names and different cover stories. Substitution. Dilution. Adulteration. Illegal laundering. The categories were never new — but nobody had named them, classified them, or given them a shared language.

So I did. Seven categories. One taxonomy. Sea of Deception is the book that walks through each, with the cases, the cover stories, the policy gaps, and the playbook to close them. It's written for the consumer who walks up to the counter and wants to know what's really in the pack — and for the regulator who's tired of writing rules that fraudsters route around.

This book isn't despair. It's a playbook.

The framework, the certification course, and the open publications register at i-cadmus.org are all built around the chapters of this book. Read the book first; then come back here to test what you've learned against the eight live case studies in Chapter 14.

Seven parts. One coherent argument.

From the conditions that make seafood fraud possible, through the seven categories of the I-CADMUS taxonomy, to the policy playbook and the consumer steps you can take Monday morning.

Why seafood is vulnerable

The conditions fraud needs: long opaque supply chains, weak labelling laws, fragmented regulation, and consumers who can't visually distinguish species or detect adulteration.

I-CADMUS deep dive

One chapter per fraud type. Definition, mechanism, real-world examples, red flags, counter-measures. The technical heart of the book.

III

Governance failures

Why voluntary standards fail. Why fragmented jurisdiction creates laundering pathways. Why the "processed in" loophole undermines origin labelling.

The five-pillar playbook

Mandatory naming, DNA verification, real penalties, supply-chain transparency, consumer rights — the policy framework that closes the gaps.

Forces converging

What the next decade looks like: cheap DNA testing, traceability technology, a generational low in consumer trust, and the political opening they create.

Eight consumer steps + the movement

What you do on Monday morning at the supermarket. What you ask the waiter. How you spot a label that lies. How you join the I-CADMUS-certified network.

VII

Eight real case studies — test your skills

Chapter 14 sets eight real-world scenarios. Read them, classify the fraud type using the I-CADMUS framework, then submit your answers on i-cadmus.org. Compare your accuracy against industry, regulators, and certified consumers worldwide. Answers and certification available at i-cadmus.org.

Eight live case studies. Test your skills.

Each case is drawn from real investigations. After reading, classify which I-CADMUS category (or combination) is at play. Submit your answers at i-cadmus.org and benchmark against the global certified network.

The supermarket snapper

A national chain advertises Australian snapper at a price 60% below market wholesale. Investigation reveals…

Substitution suspected

The frozen prawn pack

A 1kg pack of frozen prawns weighs 612g after thawing. The label declares "5% glaze."

Dilution + Misrepresentation

The sustainable salmon

A "wild-caught Atlantic salmon" promotion runs in February. There is no commercial wild Atlantic salmon fishery.

Misrepresentation

The forged certification

An MSC-marked tuna imported in volume can't be matched to any record in the certifier's public database.

Counterfeit

The grey-channel scampi

A high-end restaurant lists "wild-caught local scampi" at $90/kg. The supplier can produce no traceability documentation.

Unreported

The phosphate scallops

Premium scallops cook out 35% of their packed weight. The ingredient panel lists "scallop, water."

Adulteration

The transhipped tuna

A consignment of yellowfin tuna shows port-state records inconsistent with vessel AIS data over a six-week period.

Illegal · IUU

The "fish of the day"

DNA testing of "fish of the day" specials across 30 restaurants finds 18 different species under the same name.

Substitution

What readers are saying.

"The first time anyone has given me a single language for what I've been seeing for years across procurement audits."

Procurement Director Major Australian retailer

"An indispensable framework. The case studies in Chapter 14 alone are worth the cover price for any seafood policy practitioner."

Senior Policy Advisor Government regulator

"I will never look at a supermarket fish counter the same way again. Palmer has written the consumer's missing manual."

Food Editor National news publication

Reserve your copy. Get certified.

Preorders ship at launch in 2026 and include access to the I-CADMUS certification course alongside the book.

Sea of Deception — First Edition

Hardcover, 320 pages. Includes complimentary access to the online I-CADMUS certification course (normally available separately) and downloadable copies of the framework whitepaper and policy playbook.

Hardcover, 320 pages, full colour case-study inserts
Complimentary I-CADMUS certification enrolment
Five-pillar policy playbook (PDF)
Audit checklist generator (12-month access)
First-edition signed bookplate (limited preorder run)

$59 AUD Preorder price · ships 2026

Preorder now → Bulk orders (10+ copies)