Glossary

Algae blooms - A generic term that refers to the uncontrolled growth of single-celled algae in the ocean. These growths are distinguised by the intense pigmentation they give the water or the damage they do to local ecosystems.

Bivalve - shelffish with two distinct shells

Broodstock - breading animals in a fish pond

Carrying Capacity - A quantitative measurment of how much aquaculture production a region can withstand

Cephalopod - A mollusk that has a tubular siphon under its head, a group of legs with suckers around the head, highly developed eyes, and a sack of ink that may be ejected for concealment or defense. Octopus, squids and cuttlefish belong to this group.

Chemical Pollution - Compounds that when released into the environment disrupt the biological processes of the organisms in the ecosystem.

Crustacean - Arthropods, mainly aquatic, that have a hard chitinous or calcareous exoskeleton. Often have several pairs of appendages and a pair of antennae. Crabs, lobsters, and barnacles belong the this class

Ecosystem - A biological system consisting of many organisms that exist in mutual dependence with the other organims in the system

Eutrophication - A process, in which an excess of nutrients stimulates the growth of various algae and microscopic organisms in vast quantities. When they die they create a vaste volume of detritus. The decomposition of this detritus by bacteria uses much of the oxygen dissolved in the water. As the dissolved oxygen levels drop fish suffocate and many aquatic animals are killed.

Extensive culture - Low density culturing projects

Feed Conversion - ratio of feed weight to body weight of animal

Fingerling - Small 4 to 6 inch fingersize fish. Also called juveniles

Fry - Fish or aquatic animals at an early stage of development, that have defined body parts

Intensive culture - High density culturing projects

Finfish - Term refering to fish which have fins, such as trout and salmon

Mollusk - Any of a broad range of animals with a soft body that is protected by a hard calcareous shell such as clams.

Molting - The growing method of arthropods. The arthropod discards its original small exoskeleton and grows a new larger one

Monoculture - The growth or propogation of a single species to be harvested

Nutrient Pollution - The release of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphates into the environment that stimulate algae and phytoplankton growth. Can result in algae blooms and eutrophication

Polyculture - The growth or propogation of two or more species in a simgle system to be harvested

Semi-intensive culture - medium density culturing projects

Shellfish - Filter feeding aquatic animals that have hard shells, i.e. clams, scallops, oysters, and mussels.

Stock enhancement - The practice of culturing fish to their juvenile stages and then releasing them into the wild to strengthen wild fish stocks.

Sustainability - The characteristic of being able to coexist with another system indefinitely, without either system being damaged

Trawler - Large commercial fishing boats, often times with a significant quantity of mechanized gear, capable of catching a processing large quantities of fish rapidly