This is the second article in a series of three by Sydney Fish Market about seafood provenance, truth-in-labelling, and the importance of buying local seafood.
Did you know that Southern Calamari, a species of Squid, can be turned into calamari the dish? As can Loligo Squid, which isn’t a Calamari, but can be made into calamari. As can Cuttlefish, which is neither a Calamari nor a Squid!
Australia is home to an enormous range of seafood species, including over 5000 native species of fish, and many more crustaceans and molluscs: confusion about the naming of these species is unavoidable. On top of this, many seafood consumers are unaware that a standardised naming system for Australian fish did not even officially exist until 2007!
As early as the 1920’s, meetings were being held in Sydney to discuss fish names, as local and regional variations became apparent. To complicate matters, migrants brought with them their own knowledge of seafood, and often used foreign names for similar-looking Australian species.
While work on the standardisation of fish names in Australia has been a part of industry operations since the 1980’s, only from 1992 was major progress seen, as a result of strategic investments by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.
Sydney Fish Market has been an active supporter of the Australian Fish Names Standard since its conception, being one of the first post-harvest operators to adopt the Fish Names List, and, along with our onsite retailers, we were the first to be issued a license when this list was recognised an Australian Standard in 2007. 
Sydney Fish Market’s Executive Manager of Seafood Trading, Gus Dannoun, is the Chairman of the Australian Fish Names Committee, which meets regularly to discuss the addition of names to the Standard, and the alteration/correction of existing names. The development and maintenance of this Standard is underpinned by rigorous procedures and is representative of the industry’s commitment to transparency and traceability. Representation on the Committee even extends to restaurateurs and recreational fishers, in order to capture the opinions of all relevant parties in the naming process.
Consumer confidence in the accuracy of labelling is supremely important to the security and well-being of the Australian seafood industry. Species names can be complicated for consumers, especially when it comes to imported seafood: for example, there are many dozen species of Cod endemic to Australia that are often confused by consumers with Atlantic Cod, which they're not related to. Similarly, imported Basa is often labelled as ‘Pacific Dory’ in food service establishments despite being unrelated to the Dory family, and not being endemic to the Pacific (Ocean).
Country of origin labelling and standardised naming work in tandem to increase clarity and consumer confidence in Australian seafood.
Since SFM’s adoption of the Fish Names Standard (previously Fish Names List), we regularly audit our onsite retailers to ensure their labelling is compliant with the standard, allowing us to guarantee that seafood is always labelled consistently and truthfully in their stores.
Sydney Fish Market has unique insight into the value of applying the Fish Names Standard on the operations side of the industry, as we see it exemplified daily in our dealings with both the supply and post-harvest sectors. The Fish Names Standard increases trust in suppliers, strengthens community education about species, increases supply chain efficiency, and bolsters fisheries management and import/export protocols, allowing the Australian seafood industry to continue to grow and expand.