Title: Unit 10 Glossary
Course: WVA 101 Local Food and Cuisine > Section: WVA 101 Local Food and Cuisine

Unit 10 Glossary

Terms

Term | Definitions
Aquaculture | a form of food production involving the cultivation of commercial fish and shellfish species under controlled conditions. Aquaculture currently takes place in contained ponds and along the coast; ...
Biological Overfishing | when too many fish are harvested from a fishery, there remain too few individuals to reproduce quickly enough to sustain the population at a healthy level.
Biomass | when used in fisheries management it refers to the total population of a particular commercial fish species. Bycatch - ocean animals that are incidentally caught when fishing for other targeted an ...
Bycatch Reduction Device (BRDs) | a device put into fishing nets (usually trawl nets in shrimp fisheries) that allows non-targeted species (juveniles, finfish, sea turtles, and other potential bycatch) to escape alive while the ta ...
Catch Share | a type of fishery management that allocates a specific percentage of the total allowable fishery catch or a specific fishing area for the exclusive use of individuals, cooperatives, communities, o ...
Closed Tank System | an aquaculture system in which there is some kind of barrier between the farmed fish and the marine environment, generally by a solid walled tank floating in the water or a lined tank on land.
Commercial Overfishing | when too many fish are harvested from a fishery, there remain too few individuals to reproduce quickly enough to economically sustain a commercial fishery.
Community Supported Fisheries (CSFs) | a marketing approach, rather than a management strategy. It is an arrangement between residents and businesses in a fishing community based on the success of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) ...
Dredging | a fishing method that involves a heavy frame with an attached net that is dragged along the sea floor; dredging can cause serious damage to the sea floor and benthic habitats.
Essential Fish Habitat | any habitat that is necessary for fish spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity.
Federal Shellfish Tagging Program | the Federal Shellfish Tagging Program monitors and tracks shellfish in the United States to prevent shellfish from being illegally harvested from unsafe areas and then being sold to the public. Sh ...
Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) | in aquaculture, the feed conversion ratio is the kilogram or pounds of food required to increase the biomass in the pond by one kilogram or pound. Many factors go into determining the optimal FCR ...
Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQs)/Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs) | a management tool that assigns individuals in a fishery the right to harvest specific portions of the total allowable catch (see TAC below). The quota may be transferred to another fisherman for a ...
Invasive Species | a species that is non-native to a specific ecosystem and its introduction causes or is likely to cause damage to the ecosystem or humans.
Limited Access Privilege (LAP) | a legal term referring to specific forms of catch share management options, including the former IFQs and certain community/cooperative exclusion quota programs.
Long-line | gear in which thousands of baited hooks are laid along miles of ocean, often results in bycatch including sea birds, sharks, and sea turtles. Circular hooks are being implemented to reduce capture ...
Maximum Sustainable Yield | the largest amount of a species that can be removed from the fishery over an indefinite period while still allowing for a commercially viable future.
Mercury | present in nature but can also fall from the sky as a component of some industrial pollution and then accumulate in streams and oceans. As it does, it becomes methylmercury in the water. Methylmer ...
Ocean Pen Farming | same as open ocean farming.
Omega 3s | a family of unsaturated fatty acids, the human body does not produce omega-3s by itself and they have been shown to protect the heart. Researchers suspect it can fight cancer. They are widely foun ...
Open Ocean Farming | open net pens enclose fish such as salmon in offshore coastal areas or in fresh-water lakes. Net pens are considered a high-impact aquaculture method because waste from the fish passes freely into ...
Optimum Sustainable Yield | the largest amount of a species that can be removed from the fishery over an indefinite period while still allowing for a biologically viable future.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) | PCBs are a class of persistent organic compounds that were used as coolants and insulating fluids. Even though PCB production was banned in the U.S. in 1979, they persist in the environment and le ...
Pond Farming | enclosed fish in a coastal or inland body of fresh or salt water, shrimp, catfish, and tilapia are commonly raised in this manner. Wastewater can be contained and treated. However, the discharge o ...
Purse Seine | large netting used to capture a school of fish. Once the school of fish is surrounded the fishermen pull the bottom of the net closed (like a purse-string) and trap the fish inside.
Red Tide | under certain environmental conditions, marine algae can quickly grow, making the ocean look red. These algae produce toxins which are deadly to fish and other marine life. In addition to killing ...
Spawning Aggregation | when a large number of the same species aggregates in a specific site temporarily to reproduce; these species are particularly susceptible to overfishing during these aggregations.
Stakeholder | when referring to the ocean, any group or individual concerned about the state of a fishery or ocean resources impacted by a fishery. This can include fishermen, communities, environmentalists, re ...
Total Allowable Catch (TAC) | total limits of how many of each species can be caught, usually set by fishery managers, regulations, or fishing communities.
Tragedy of the Commons | a scenario developed by Garrett Hardin to describe what can befall “common” limited resources. The tragedy of the commons tells the story of a town commons in which anyone could graze their sh ...
Traps | baited cages made of wood or wire used to capture targeted species and keep them alive until they are hauled in. Can be damaging to the habitat in which they are dropped, but generally have lower ...
Trawling | fishing gear made of large nets (up to the size of a football field) that are dragged through mid- water or along the bottom to capture all fish (and incidental bycatch) in its path.
Turtle Excluder Devise (TED) | a grid of bars added to the top or bottom of a trawl that allows small animals to pass into the trawl net, but allows larger animals, like marine turtles, to be ejected through the opening when th ...