U. S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition
2002 Seafood List - Modified 1998-2002 from the 1993 Edition (Print Version)

Search the Seafood List

"The Seafood List" is a compilation of existing acceptable market names for imported and domestically available seafood as well as scientific names, common names, and known vernacular or regional names.

*Seafood Logo* For Forms-based browsers, type the name of the fish or shellfish of interest in the form below and click on the "Search" button. You will receive a list of matches for all entries in the Seafood List that contain that name.


Certain Seafood List entries contain links to the Regulatory Fish Encyclopedia. Selection of those links will take you to a page containing high resolution images and other information for that species. The Regulatory Fish Encyclopedia (RFE) is an experimental resource developed by the Seafood Products Research Center and Science Branch, Seattle District; the Office of Seafood, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition; and the Seafood Laboratory and Science Branch, San Francisco District.



"The Seafood List" is a compilation of existing acceptable market names for imported and domestically available seafood. It is advisable to use either the Acceptable Market Name or the Common Name in labeling seafood products which will help assure that identity labeling of the seafood will comply with FDA and NMFS regulations. Use of the vernacular name is not encouraged, and may cause the seafood to be misbranded. For additional information regarding the list please contact Spring Randolph (srandolp@cfsan.fda.gov), Office of Seafood.

"The Seafood List" is a compilation of existing acceptable market names for imported and domestically available seafood. The list was developed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Its purpose is to promote uniformity in the use of FDA acceptable market names by the fish industry, and to provide consistent advice on these names. The list represents an extensive, although not necessarily complete, listing of seafood commonly sold in the United States.

In determining which seafood species would be included, and what market names would be acceptable, the following criteria were used:

  1. The seafood species is currently sold in interstate commerce in the United States or has a strong potential for sale.
  2. The seafood species is not listed as endangered.
  3. The seafood species is not prohibited by law from sale in interstate commerce.
  4. Common and/or market names already prescribed by federal regulation have been incorporated into the list.

The references used in determining scientific and common names included the American Fisheries Society Publications, Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada, World Fishes Important to North America, Exclusive of Species from Continental Waters of the United States and Canada, and Common and Scientific Names of Aquatic Invertebrates from the United States and Canada for Mollusk and Decapod Crustacean; Lobsters of the World, Dr. Austin B. Williams; Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) species catalogs and/or species identifications sheets and source country references for species limited to that country. Multilingual Dictionary of Fish and Fish Products, Fishing News Books, British Library; and Fish, Five Language Dictionary of Fish, Crustaceans and Molluscs, Willibald Krane.

Market names have been determined by common usage in the United States. When more than one name is in use for a species, the acceptable market name has been decided based on the above references and in consultation with FDA and NMFS.

It is advisable to use either the Acceptable Market Name or the Common Name in labeling seafood products which will help assure that identity labeling of the seafood will comply with FDA and NMFS regulations. Use of the vernacular name is not encouraged, and may cause the seafood to be misbranded. The listing of Vernacular Names have been included for information purposes, and to help reference the Acceptable Market Name.

The print version of "The Seafood List" is out of print and is no longer available from the U.S. Government Printing Office.


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Last updated on 2005-OCT-03 by frf