Fish names – labelling

You need to meet labelling requirements for fish names and fish products for the New Zealand market and, if you export, destination countries.

Fish products must also be labelled in accordance with the requirements in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Further information can be found in the General requirements & programmes section of this site.

General requirements & programmes: labelling & composition

Fish names – labelling requirements for the New Zealand market

You must label the outer packaging of fish and fish products intended for human consumption in New Zealand with the scientific fish name. This requirement applies to the outer packaging labels used for transporting the products, not the retail packaging labels. You can also display the common name on the outer packaging, although this is not a requirement.

You can find the scientific and common names of fish in a list maintained by MPI.

Specification of Scientific Names of Fish

The requirements for fish names are given under the Animal Products (Specifications for Products Intended for Human Consumption) Notice 2004, and subsequent amendment notices.

Fish names – labelling requirements for export

There are specific requirements for labelling fish and fish products intended for export. You can find out more about these on the Exporting seafood page of this section by using the link in the left-hand menu.

Approved Fish Names List (124 KB PDF)

Changing or adding a name to the list of approved fish names

MPI works together with the New Zealand Seafood Standards Council to approve fish names. You can change or add a New Zealand common fish name or an approved foreign fish name by applying to MPI.

You can find further information about the procedure in these documents.

Procedures for Selecting NZ Common Fish Names and Approved Foreign Names (37 KB PDF)
Proposed Amendment to the New Fish Names List (NZFNL) and/or Approved Foreign Fish Names List (APFNL) (75 KB PDF)