In the States, there are other things that go by the name "fish cakes" and some of them actually taste good.
- Fish croquettes: These are precooked, usually white-fleshed fish, although you could use salmon, and the fish is mushed up with potatoes and maybe bread or cracker crumbs and egg, and formed into little round cakes, which are dredged in crumbs and fried. They're tasty and a good way to use up leftover unfried fish.
- Asian-style fish cake: This is actually just about the same as what wembley describes, except you probably wouldn't find it fried and sitting in a newspaper cone. It's ground, seasoned fish in sort of a meatball shape, or sometimes in a roll which you slice to reveal a pretty pink food coloring spiral. This kind of fish cake is usually found in big bowls of noodle soup, and can be kinda good.