What's in a fish name?
Mulloway
Standard, common and scientific fish names
Have you ever caught a mulloway, a jewfish, a butterfish or even perhaps a river kingfish?
Although each fish species has a unique two-part scientific name based on an international naming convention, many fishes have more than one common name, or a single common name may be used for more than one species of fish.
The popular angling and food fish, known scientifically as Argyrosomus hololepidotus, has been known for a long time as jewfish in Queensland and New South Wales, mulloway in Victoria, butterfish in South Australia (where it is an extremely popular choice at 'fish and chips' shops), and kingfish or river kingfish in Western Australia. Times have changed, and this species should now be called Mulloway throughout Australia.
Experts from government agencies such as Seafood Services Australia, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and fish taxonomists from museums throughout Australia recently joined forces with fishing industry representatives, fish book authors, recreational anglers and aquarists to produce a uniform list of standardised names for Australian fish species.
The Australian Fish Names Standard and the Australian Standard Fish Names List is the result of consensus among these stakeholders and the public. This list will greatly improve seafood marketing in Australia as all seafood must be labelled with the correct Standard Fish name AND consumers will be able to make informed choices when purchasing seafood or dining at restaurants.
Information about Standard Fish Names in Australia can be found at http://www.seafood.net.au/fishnames/
and the Standard Fish Names in Australia are available on a searchable database at http://www.fishnames.com.au/
For each species treatment, we include the Australian Standard Fish Name along with the scientific name.