Early this month, a new rule labeling rainbow trout as salmon caused a splash in China. It is reported that one third of the salmon sold on the Chinese market are not from the deep sea. Instead, they are actually rainbow trout produced by a lesser-known town in west China’s Qinghai Province. Whether rainbow trout can be called salmon has therefore stirred up a debate in society.

The much-debated rule was put forward by the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance (CAPPMA) under the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. It says that salmon is a generic term for salmonids, including Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, and coco salmon.

To solve the doubt among citizens, on August 21, an open discussion meeting on the definition of salmon was held by the Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee.

Participants of the discussion included deputies of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, members of the Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee, consumer representatives, experts, representative enterprises and the drafters of the rule that allows rainbow trout to be labeled and sold as salmon.

As fishery expert Zheng Weizhong put it, salmon is a customary name. Salmon is not a narrow species-specific term, says a 1955 article published in a Chinese newspaper. No one can determine whether a customary name is right or wrong.

According to Professor Chen Yusheng at the School of Food Science, Shanghai Ocean University, salmon live out their lives at sea, and they migrate to fresh water only to spawn. In China and Japan, Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon are generally referred to as salmon, while those living predominantly in fresh water are called trout. Therefore, rainbow trout, as predominantly freshwater fish, fall into the category of trout.

In Chen’s opinion, we should make a strict distinction between salmon and rainbow trout. He explained that the growth qualities of different fish types are related to the water they live in. Different varieties of fish taste differently even though they are superficially similar to each other.

Wang Yamin, a professor at the Marine College, Shandong University, believes that salmon should no longer be used as a general name in order to avoid the conflict of interests of fishery companies, who might struggle over whether or not to label their products salmon. Instead, while appearing on the market, the fish should be sold with a label listing the place of origin and species, Wang suggested at the discussion meeting.

From the perspective of a consumer, Xu Liping, a deputy of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, suggested that an academic seminar be organized by the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance so as to name different genera of salmon. Standing in the shoes of consumers, she said we should define salmon in accordance with the most received standards among the public. On the contrary, chances are that people will be misled when rainbow trout are labeled as salmon, as CAPPMA’s new rule says.