Fishionary

A blog about fish words!

By Abigail Lynch

A blog about fish words!

Author: abby

Quota

August 29, 2018 by abby

A quota is the allowable number or amount of fish that can be harvested in a commercial or recreational fishery.  This is a regulatory strategy to limit harvest.  They are set each fishing season based on allowance for sustainable harvest (e.g., see Maximum Sustainable Yield). In certain commercial fisheries, quotas are essentially equivalent to a “share” … [Read more…]

Posted in: Q Tagged: fishing regulation, ITQ, sustainable harvest, TAC

Trap, pound, and fyke nets

July 27, 2018 by abby

A trap or pound net is a type of fishing gear with a complex organization of nets anchored to the substrate that “lead” or funnel fish into a final compartment (i.e., trap or pound) from which they cannot escape.  In the Laurentian Great Lakes, this type of fishing gear is called a trap net and … [Read more…]

Posted in: T Tagged: bycatch, fishing gear, fyke net, gill net, pound net, trap net

Gill net

June 29, 2018 by abby

A gill net is a simple type of fishing gear that is staked to a substrate to create a wall of mesh.  Gill nets are often made of a material, such as monofilament nylon, which is practically invisible to fish attempting to swim by.  As the name implies, fish are often caught by the gills because … [Read more…]

Posted in: G Tagged: bycatch, fishing gear, gill net, pound net, trap net

Tubercles

May 25, 2018 by abby

Tubercles are skin nodules made of keratin, the same materials as hair, hooves, and fingernails.  They are present on species representing at least 15 families of fishes, including even pet goldfish.  In many species, tubercles are found only on males during the breeding season and are shed shortly there after.  They are often called breeding … [Read more…]

Posted in: T Tagged: breeding, contact organ, keratin, spawning

BRD

April 27, 2018 by abby

BRD is an acronym for bycatch reduction device.  Bycatch is non-target catch within any fishery. For certain fisheries, these modifications to the gear (i.e., BRDs) can help lower the amount of bycatch.  For example, a turtle excluder device (TED) is a specific type of BRD designed to help turtles escape trawl nets.  Especially in cases where fisheries have bycatch … [Read more…]

Posted in: B Tagged: BRD, bycatch, bycatch reduction device, TED

Population dynamics

March 30, 2018 by abby

Fish population dynamics is the study of change in a fish population over time.  Fundamentally, a population size after some time interval equates to the population size before that interval plus births (i.e., recruitment) and immigration and minus mortality and emigration.  Many fish populations follow a logistic pattern of density-dependent growth.  Beginning with a population … [Read more…]

Posted in: P Tagged: maximum sustainable yield, MSY, overfishing

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

February 23, 2018 by abby

An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a 200 nautical mile jurisdiction granted to coastal nations for “sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of … [Read more…]

Posted in: E Tagged: EEZ, fisheries management, Law of the Sea, Magnuson-Stevens Act, overfishing

Maxium sustainable yield (MSY)

January 26, 2018 by abby

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is a classic concept from fish population dynamics.  It operates under the assumption that populations have a carrying capacity, or equilibrium size, where the the resources available match the population requirements and if individuals are removed from the population, they will be replaced (i.e., are renewable).  When harvest removes a portion … [Read more…]

Posted in: M Tagged: carrying capacity, Magnuson-Stevens Act, MSY, overfished, overfishing, population dynamics, renewable resources, sustainable harvest

Gill rakers

December 1, 2017 by abby

While gill rakers have no role in gas exchange, the predominant function of gills,  they do perform an equally important function for filter-feeding fish – food acquisition.  These bony projections serve as a sieve to trap food particles.  They vary greatly in length and number and these characteristic differences have evolved with different feeding strategies … [Read more…]

Posted in: G Tagged: filter feeding, gills, taxonomy

Escapement

October 20, 2017 by abby

Escapement is a term used in salmon management to mean, quite simply, how many salmon are able to “escape” premature death and complete their full life cycle.  These escapees have run the gauntlet of natural mortality, recreational fishing, commercial fishing, and other life-threatening episodes for the opportunity to spawn in freshwater.  Escapement is estimated by … [Read more…]

Posted in: E Tagged: fish surveys, maximum sustainable yield, Pacific Salmon
« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Next »

Fishionary Alphabet

  • Home
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

Recent Posts

  • Alevin
  • Abyssopelagic zone
  • Kype
  • Fish conservation zones (FCZs)
  • Amphidromous
The views expressed in these posts are solely the views of the AFS member who wrote them and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), its officers, or the U.S. Geological Survey. Both organizations make no representation on the accuracy of opinions expressed in this blog. AFS merely hosts voluntary blogs as a place for members to share their personal views with other AFS members and to engage in friendly exchanges on fish topics.

Copyright © 2025 Fishionary.

Church WordPress Theme by themehall.com