Resources
Every term here appears somewhere on a specification we publish. Each one links back to the products where it does the work.
Product frozen together into a solid block, usually to a fixed block weight.
Blocks suit processors who thaw and re-cut. They do not suit anyone who needs to take out a few pieces at a time.
See also: Individually quick frozen
Used on: Atlantic herring , Atlantic mackerel
An official document evidencing that a wild catch was taken legally, required under IUU rules for entry to the EU and several other markets.
Ask for the catch certificate at order stage, not at arrival. Retrospective documentation is difficult and sometimes impossible.
See also: FAO fishing area
Used on: Atlantic cod , Snow crab , Atlantic mackerel
A crab section comprising several legs attached to a piece of the body shell.
Cluster grade is a weight band, not a quality statement. Meat fill, shell condition and leg breakage tolerance are separate fields.
Used on: Snow crab , Red king crab
The number of pieces in a kilogram or a stated pack weight, used to grade shellfish.
A count only means something when the form is attached: 80/120 shell-on is not 80/120 peeled.
See also: Peeled
Used on: Cold-water prawn
Frozen, thawed for processing, and frozen again. A legitimate and common product that must be declared.
Double-frozen product typically shows higher drip and softer texture. It is not inferior for every use — but it is a different purchase.
See also: Single frozen
Used on: Atlantic cod , Greenland halibut
The FAO major fishing area a wild catch comes from. Norwegian catches fall in FAO 27, the Northeast Atlantic.
FAO area is a labelling requirement in many markets. Sub-area and catch date are more useful commercially.
See also: Catch certificate
Used on: Atlantic cod , Haddock , Saithe , Snow crab
The side of the fish removed from the frame, with or without skin and with a stated bone status.
"Fillet" alone leaves skin, pin bones, trim level and net-weight basis undefined. All four belong in the specification.
See also: Loin , Trim (A–E) , Portion
Used on: Atlantic cod , Atlantic salmon , Haddock , Saithe
Frozen aboard the catching vessel, normally within hours of capture.
FAS and shore-frozen product behave differently in thaw loss and appearance, and are priced differently. State which you are buying.
See also: Single frozen , Double frozen , Headed and gutted
Used on: Atlantic cod , Greenland halibut , Atlantic mackerel
A protective layer of ice applied to frozen product to limit dehydration and oxidation, expressed as a percentage of gross weight.
Glaze is water. A price quoted against glazed gross weight and a price quoted net of glaze are not comparable. Agree the percentage in writing.
See also: Net of glaze
Used on: Snow crab , Greenland halibut , Atlantic mackerel
Gutted fish with the head left on. The standard presentation for fresh Norwegian salmon and trout export.
HOG and H&G are not the same thing and the weight difference is substantial. Write the abbreviation out in full on the purchase order if there is any chance of confusion.
See also: Headed and gutted , Whole round
Used on: Atlantic salmon , Fjord trout
Gutted fish with the head removed. The standard presentation for frozen whitefish.
Ask whether the H&G is sea frozen or shore frozen, and single or double frozen. The three letters cover both, and they price differently.
See also: Head-on gutted , Frozen at sea , J-cut
Used on: Atlantic cod , Haddock , Saithe , Greenland halibut
The ICC's standard trade terms defining where risk and cost pass between seller and buyer. The current edition is Incoterms 2020.
Always write the named place after the term — "CIP Paris CDG", not "CIP". A term without a place is incomplete.
Each piece frozen separately so the pieces stay loose rather than forming a block.
IQF product usually carries glaze. Ask for the glaze percentage and price against net-of-glaze weight.
See also: Block frozen , Glaze , Net of glaze
Used on: Cold-water prawn , Haddock , Atlantic herring
Individual pieces separated by film or paper so they can be taken apart while still frozen.
Interleaving costs more to pack but saves labour and waste at the point of use. Weigh the two against your own operation.
See also: Individually quick frozen , Block frozen
Used on: Greenland halibut , Atlantic salmon
A J-shaped cut behind the head that removes the nape and part of the belly flap, used principally on Greenland halibut.
A J-cut fish weighs less than the same fish presented H&G, so H&G and J-cut weight bands are not interchangeable. Name the presentation before the band.
See also: Headed and gutted
Used on: Greenland halibut
Whitefish that has been salted and then dried. Distinct from saltfish, which is wet salted only.
Klippfisk, saltfish and ready-desalted product have three different weight bases. Say which one you are buying.
Used on: Saltfish and klippfisk
The thick, even forward section of the fillet, cut to a uniform shape and free of the thin belly and tail.
Loin yield per fillet is limited, which is why loins carry a premium. Specify the weight band and whether the loin is skinless and boneless.
Used on: Atlantic cod , Saithe , Haddock
How full of meat a crab's shell is, expressed as a percentage, varying with the moult cycle.
Specify a minimum fill and the method of assessment. Two clusters of the same weight can yield very different amounts of meat.
See also: Cluster
Used on: Snow crab , Red king crab
The weight of the product after the glaze has been removed — the actual amount of seafood being sold.
Make net-of-glaze the contractual weight basis and state the method by which it will be verified on arrival.
See also: Glaze
Used on: Snow crab , Cold-water prawn
Shellfish with the shell removed, sold as meat.
A count band for peeled product is a different band from the same product shell-on. Always write the form next to the count.
See also: Count
Used on: Cold-water prawn
A fixed-weight piece cut from a fillet or loin to an agreed target weight and tolerance.
Specify the target weight, the tolerance, whether it is a centre cut or tail cut, skin and bone status, and whether the weight is before or after glazing.
See also: Fillet , Loin , Glaze
Used on: Atlantic salmon
Whether the fish was filleted before or after rigor mortis set in.
Pre-rigor filleting gives a different shape and a different gaping risk than post-rigor filleting. If it matters to your process, put it in the contract.
See also: Trim (A–E)
Used on: Atlantic salmon , Fjord trout
Frozen once, from fresh raw material, and never thawed and refrozen.
Several destination markets require freezing history to be declared. Ask for it in writing rather than assuming it.
See also: Double frozen , Frozen at sea
Used on: Atlantic cod , Atlantic salmon
Fish opened out flat along the backbone, the base presentation for salting, drying and klippfisk production.
Split fish size bands refer to the cured weight. State whether the weight is wet-salted or dried — they are far apart.
See also: Klippfisk
Used on: Saltfish and klippfisk , Saithe , Atlantic cod
Whitefish, principally cod, air dried on racks without salt, then hand graded into commercial classes.
Buy on the class name, the length band and the drying season — not on adjectives.
A ladder of salmon and trout fillet trims describing which bones, fins, flaps and membranes have been removed, from Trim A through to Trim E.
The letter does not define skin, belly depth in millimetres, tail treatment, colour, fat, rigor state or freezing history. Specify those separately.
See also: Fillet , Pre-rigor and post-rigor
Used on: Atlantic salmon , Fjord trout
The fish exactly as caught — nothing removed. Head, guts, fins and tail all present.
Whole round weight is the highest weight the fish will ever have. Every later presentation weighs less, so never carry a WR band across to another form.
See also: Head-on gutted , Headed and gutted
Used on: Atlantic mackerel , Atlantic herring
Procurement
Tell us the species, form, size, packing, quantity and destination. The more detail you provide, the closer the first reply can be to a commercially usable quote.