Aquaculture Terms

General

Aquaculture – also known as aquafarming, it is the controlled growth of aquatic species.

Pisciculture – aquaculture practice involving finned fish.

Extensive aquaculture – managed aquaculture dependent on the local natural setting, such as a pond or coastal sea area.

Intensive aquaculture – managed aquaculture controlled through human engineered means, such as managing water quality and sources of food.

Fish farm – locations used to grow populations of aquatic organisms, primarily fish.

Fish Hatchery – one form of a fish farm, managed with the intent of resupplying native wild populations in natural environments.

Ornamental fish – are small fish, such as koi, which are typically grown to be kept in aquariums or small landscape ponds.

Game fish – Fish, such as trout, raised to become replenishment stock for natural sport fisheries.

Wild fishing harvest – the commercial and personal fishing consumption in a specific area and over a specific time frame.

Fish farming

Water Quality – the characteristics of water, such as water temperature and contamination, which define its ability to sustain life and its purity from chemicals.

Culture tanks – Artificial holding areas used to rear fish farm stocks.

Fish husbandry – the breeding and rearing of fish for a variety of reasons.

Anadromous fish – migratory fish that live in salt water but breed in fresh water.

Catadromous fish – migratory fish that live in fresh water but breed in salt water.

Amphidromous fish – migratory fish that live in both fresh and salt water, independent of breeding.

Potamodromous fish – migratory fish that move within fresh water only.

Oceanodromous fish – migratory fish that move within salt water only.

Genotyping –
determining the genetic makeup of a fish or stock or the purpose of managing the efficiency of aquaculture production.

In vitro fertilization – artificially fertilizing fish eggs in a laboratory setting.

Fish meal – commercially processed food source used in fish farming as a source of protein for the fish stock.

Fry – Development stage of fish immediately after the larvae stage, at an age of less than a week.

Fingerling – Development stage of fish following the fry stage and continuing into the first three to four months of life.

Yearling – Development stage of fish following the fingerling stage and lasting until approximately one year of age.

Brood stock – fish of any particular species which are raised for reproduction purposes.

Fish kill – a description of the number of fish stock to die in a specific amount of time.

Pond acreage – area committed to extensive aquaculture holdings at a fish farm or company.

Environmental

Overfishing – detrimental practice of removing more of a natural aquatic species than what natural reproduction can support.

Contaminants – Both natural and artificial materials not typically found or found in unusually high concentrations which can be detrimental to the health of wild or farmed aquatic species