WHAT’S described as one of the most important developments for seafood consumers in over 200 years was launched today Australia-wide.
It is a scheme whereby seafood retailers displaying the “Approved Fish Names” logo guarantee to use nationally standardised fish names, helping to remove the confusion that numerous surveys have revealed reduces consumers’ confidence in purchasing seafood.

Mr Ted Loveday, Managing Director of Seafood Services Australia said today’s launch of the Fish Names Brand Scheme was a critically important innovation for both seafood businesses and consumers.

“A lot of people in the seafood industry are very excited about this scheme,” Mr Loveday said. “It’s a breakthrough. It’s been a long time coming and will make a real difference to seafood retailing across the nation.

“It’s adoption by all the retailers at the Sydney Fish Market from today is just the beginning, and a very significant indication of how responsible retailers believe adopting the standard fish names scheme can benefit their business and help consumers. The Sydney Fish Market is the largest seafood market in the country and all of the retailers there recognize the benefits of this scheme.

“By adopting the scheme and displaying the ‘Approved Fish Names’ logo in their premises, participating retail outlets can demonstrate to customers their commitment to the accurate use of names and labelling of fish. That will certainly give them a marketing edge”.

Mr Loveday said the SSA scheme aimed to strengthen consumer confidence in seafood.

“The Australian Fish Names Standard AS SSA 5300-2007 defines one Standard Fish Name to be used for each seafood species produced or traded in Australia. The list was developed by SSA’s National Fish Names Committee through an extensive consultation process involving seafood experts, consumer representatives, fisheries managers and other stakeholders -- a mammoth six-year project involving public consultation and the assigning of names for 4,500 seafood species -- and was adopted by Standards Australia as an official Australian Standard in July 2007.

“Confusion over fish names in Australia began at least 238 years ago, when Captain Cook sailed into Botany Bay and his crew caught a reddish fish he named ‘snapper’, because it was similar to an entirely different family of fish he was familiar with from earlier trips to the Americas. In fact, Cook’s ghost can rest easy: that name is so popular it has been retained as the standard name across the country. But that’s ‘snapper’, not ‘schnapper’: the extra ‘ch’ was an adornment restaurateurs added later.”
List of Standard Fish Names For Some Popular Species
The following list shows the Standard Fish Names and obsolete names for some popular species (by State). Full details of these and all of the 4,500 species in the Australian Fish Names Standard are available on our user-firendly, searchable online Standard Fish Names Database at: www.fishnames.com.au
State Standard Fish Name Obsolete Name
QLD Blue Swimmer Crab Sand Crab
Moses Snapper Moses Perch, Fingermark Bream
Golden Perch Yellowbelly
Saddletail Snapper Saddletail Seaperch
Tropical Snapper Seaperch
Yellowfin Bream Bream
NSW Mulloway Jewfish
Blue-Eye Trevalla Blue-Eye Cod
Bight Redfish Red Snapper
Morwong Deepsea Bream
Orange Roughy Deepsea Perch
Luderick Black Bream, Blackfish
Mahi Mahi Dolphinfish
Bar Rockcod Bar Cod
Cobia Black King
VIC Escolar Butterfish
Rudderfish Butterfish
Rocklobster Crayfish
Morwong Deepsea Bream
Orange Roughy Deepsea Perch
Barracouta Snoek
Blue Weed-Whiting Grass Whiting
Silver Perch Black Perch
Cobia Black King
TAS Rocklobster Crayfish
Blue-eye Trevalla Deep Sea Trevalla, Sea Trevally
Blue Warehou Trevally
Silver Warehou Trevally
SA Australian Herring Tommy Ruff
Australian Sardine Pilchard
Rocklobster Crayfish
Golden Perch Callop
Trumpeter Bastard Trumpeter
Ocean Jacket Ocean Leatherjacket
WA Snapper Pink Snapper
Tropical Snappers Tropical Seaperches
Rocklobster Crayfish
Australian Sardine Pilchard, Mouli
Saddletail Snapper Saddletail Seaperch
Silver Trevally Skippy
West Australian Dhufish Pearl Perch
Skipjack Tuna Bonito
NT Blue Threadfin Threadfin Salmon
Mulloway Jewfish
Goldband Snapper Jobfish
Saddletail Snapper Nannygai
Tuskfish Blue Bone Tusk or Parrotfish
Tropical Snapper Seaperch