Latin labelling for fish?

News Archives

12/09/2001 - Claims that the EU is planning to ban the English names of fish and force retailers to replace them with Latin names on food packaging are unfounded, according to Catheribne Eva, Head of the European Commission's Representation in Wales , News Wales reports this week.

The European Commission has proposed clearer labelling on the packaging of fish products to ensure that consumers are properly informed about what they are buying. Labels would include the exact name of the fish, how it was produced, and where it was caught.

These proposals will be discussed on Tuesday 11 September in the Fisheries Management Committee of the European Commission.

Three Member States (France, Portugal and Sweden) have also proposed putting Latin names on labels in addition to the original national name. This is not supported by the Commission or by the majority of EU member states.

Commenting on the reports, Catherine Eva said, "There is no Commission support for the use of Latin names on food labelling. The aim of these proposals is to ensure that consumers are given as much information as possible about the food they are eating."

Understanding Fish Names
From Shirlie Sharpe,
Your Guide to Freshwater Aquariums.

What’s In a Name?
Ever find yourself among fish enthusiasts who use scientific names and felt foolish because you didn’t know them yourself? Don’t feel too out of the loop - even long time fish owners don't always know the scientific name of their fish. Scientific names are in Latin, which isn’t exactly short and sweet. If that isn't bad enough, names frequently change due to new research and discoveries that alter their classification. Furthermore, it’s not unusual to see erroneous labeling at the point of sale, especially in shops that don't specialize in fish.

So don’t lament too much over not knowing scientific names. On the other hand, if you want to learn more about your fish, knowing the proper scientific name is invaluable.

It isn't all that tough to learn the basic classifications of fish, and you might even find yourself getting hooked on it.

Classification
You might remember studying the major groups (phyla) of the animal kingdom in school. All fish are of the phylum Chordata, which interestingly enough includes birds. The phyla is broken down into classes, which in turn are broken down into orders, which are further broken down into families. Families are broken down into genus, which in turn are broken down into species, and finally (if necessary) broken down into varieties (see graphic to the right).

There are roughly 10,000 of species of freshwater fish, but less than 200 of them are commonly seen in aquarium stores. In fact a mere 20 species of fish make up nearly 90% of all aquarium fish sales. Generally speaking, commercially available fish fall into the following seven groups:

Anabantidae - Gourami, Betta
Cichlidae - Angelfish, Cichlids, Discus, Oscars
Characiformes - Tetras, Silver Dollars, Pencilfish, Hachetfish, Headstanders, Piranha
Cypriniformes - Barbs, Danios, Rasboras, Loaches, Goldfish
Cyprinodontiformes - Killifish
Poeciliiodae - Livebearers (Guppy, Swords, Mollys, Platys)
Siluriformes - Catfish

Family and Genus
Fish in the same family usually have some general similarities. Fish in the same genus have even more similarities. Because fish are given a scientific name that is based on the genus and species, you can easily determine which fish are in the same genus. For example, the scientific name for the fish commonly known as the Blue Gourami is Trichogaster trichopterus, which means it belongs to the genus Trichogaster. Several other gouramis, such as the Moonlight, Pearl, and Snakeskin gourami, have a scientific name that also begins with Trichogaster, which means they all belong to the same genus.

So where do you begin learning scientific names? Start by learning the scientific names of the fish you already have, or are most interested in having. If you are searching for fish information, you'll find it is a lot easier if you use the scientific name rather than the common name. Here is a list of common fish names that also shows their scientific name. If you can’t find your fish on the list, send me an email and I’ll help you find the proper name.

Bloody stupid idea. If it's anything like when they tried to force retailers to use only metric then it will fail because they have now backtracked and we are now allowed to use pounds and ounces which is only right because most people still use that. It's just the children who have started using metric in the last few years. I can't understand why these stupid laws keep coming in. It's almost as if they don't like things running smoothly, they got to change it. They must have some money left over and need to spend it somewhere so they get somebody to come up with another stupid rule.

Back in the 1970's there was a big push here in the USA to adopt the Metric System and it failed miserably. No one here understood it nor wanted to understand it and the current system worked just fine. Most people here simply revolted against it. What survived was a dual labeling on most containers like Milk etc. and believe it or not even toilet bowls have a dual label for the amount of water per flush and the only things that come to mind as being pure metric are drinking water and soda like Coca Cola bottles, (usually 500Ml or 1, 2 Litre) and car motor displacements.

Any guy who is into car motors here dread and hold with real dis-taste the reference to a car engines displacement in Liters. Bring back good old cubic inches and now your talking American!