Sushi and Fish Terms in English, With FDA Market Names

In a sushi kitchen, fish names cause more confusion than anything else. The chef from Japan says "hamachi", the supplier's invoice says "yellowtail", and the menu says "Hamachi". Whether they are the same fish or not, nobody checks.

This guide sets out sushi and fish terms with their English equivalents. For fish names we give the scientific name and the Acceptable Market Name listed in the US Food and Drug Administration's Seafood List, checked against the FDA database (updated August 2026). General Japanese kitchen vocabulary is in Japanese kitchen terms in English.

1. Sushi and counter terms

2. Filleting and slicing

3. Fish and seafood names: Japanese, scientific and US market names

"FDA market name" is the Acceptable Market Name that the FDA's Seafood List gives as a name that may be used to label the species in interstate commerce. "FDA common name" is the Common Name in the same list. Scientific names are the usual equivalents; where a Japanese name covers several species, we give the representative one.

Fish not listed here can be looked up by scientific name in the FDA Seafood List. Use it as the reference for making fish names match across supplier invoices, the menu and your allergen chart.

4. The "yellowtail" and "kanpachi" trap

US sushi restaurants often call hamachi "yellowtail". In the FDA Seafood List, however, buri (Seriola quinqueradiata) has the market name "Amberjack" and the common name "Buri". The species whose common name is "Yellowtail" is hiramasa (Seriola lalandi).

Kanpachi is similar. Japanese kanpachi (Seriola dumerili) has the market name "Amberjack". The market name "Kanpachi (Ocean-Farmed)" is accepted for a different species, Seriola rivoliana (common name Almaco Jack).

Which name you put on the menu is your decision, but at the buying stage you should confirm by scientific name which species you are actually getting. Chefs from Japan in particular may have picked up English fish names by assumption. When a new chef arrives, one of the first jobs is to check this table against your suppliers' product lists.

5. Raw fish safety: the English and the rules

United States: FDA Food Code 2026

The FDA Food Code is a model code adopted by state and local regulators, and how much of it applies varies by jurisdiction. The main provisions in the 2026 edition:

• Parasite destruction: fish served raw or undercooked must be frozen and stored at -20°C (-4°F) or below for at least 168 hours (7 days); frozen at -35°C (-31°F) or below until solid and stored at -35°C or below for at least 15 hours; or frozen at -35°C or below until solid and stored at -20°C or below for at least 24 hours.
• Exemptions: molluscan shellfish; scallop products consisting only of the shucked adductor muscle; tuna of the species Thunnus alalunga, T. albacares, T. atlanticus, T. maccoyii, T. obesus and T. thynnus; certain aquacultured fish raised on formulated feed containing no live parasites; and fish eggs removed from the skein and rinsed. Thunnus orientalis (Pacific bluefin) is not named in that list.
• Records: if the restaurant freezes the fish, it records the freezing temperature and time and keeps the records for 90 days after service. If the supplier freezes it, a written statement from the supplier can replace those records. Where freezing is skipped for aquacultured fish, the supplier's written statement is kept for 90 days.
• Consumer advisory: when raw or undercooked animal foods are served, the menu or other written material must identify them (disclosure) and carry a note about the risk (reminder).

United Kingdom (Great Britain)

Regulation 853/2004 as it applies in Great Britain (Annex III, Section VIII, Chapter III) requires fishery products intended to be eaten raw, among others, to be frozen so that all parts of the product reach -20°C or below for at least 24 hours, or -35°C or below for at least 15 hours, to kill parasites other than trematodes. There are conditional exemptions, including for some farmed fish.

On the kitchen floor, it helps if the buyer and chefs share phrases such as "frozen for parasite destruction", "freezing log" and "supplier's letter of guarantee". How to write hygiene controls into a manual is covered in how to write a kitchen training manual for local staff, and hiring a buyer in hiring a sushi fish buyer.

General information, not food safety or labelling advice. The English terms are examples. Rules on naming fish and on serving raw fish differ by country, state and locality and are revised over time. Check the rules of the health authority where your restaurant operates and the latest official material.