hington state Governor Jay Inslee on Monday signed into law a bill that tackles seafood fraud.House Bill 1200 — which passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously — requires any fresh, frozen or processed fish and shellfish be labeled by the common name so buyers can make an informed purchasing decision. The common names of fish are defined by the director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. If a species’ common name is not already defined by the director, then the market name becomes the acceptable common name as provided in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines.
The bill also specifically addresses halibut mislabeling by requiring that only the species Hippoglossus hippoglossus (Atlantic halibut) or Hippoglossus stenolepsis (Pacific halibut) can be labeled as halibut.
Finally, the legislation requires that salmon species be labeled by their scientific or accepted common name, which is especially important in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, where consumers face the possibility of farmed Atlantic salmon being substituted for species of wild caught Pacific salmon.
