Glossary |
A |
| absolute recruitment | |
| The number of fish which grow into the catchable size range in a unit of time (usually a year). | |
| abundance index | |
| Information obtained from samples or observations and used as a measure of the weight or number of fish which make up a stock. | |
| access right | |
| An authorization given to a user (e.g. a vessel owner) by a competent fishery management authority or by legislation to exploit a resource, a particular species or a share of a total allowable catch. | |
| actual
mortality rate - see: |
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| aerial survey | |
| A method of gathering information on surface fish movement by density by visual observation and photography from low-flying aircraft. | |
| alien species | |
| Introduced, exotic or non-indigenous species (usually which has been transported by human activity, intentional or accidental, into a region where it does not naturally occur). | |
| anadromous species | |
| Anadromous species reproduce in and inhabit fresh water, but usually journey out to the ocean (often thousands of miles) before returning to spawn. They include salmon, steelhead trout, striped bass, Atlantic and shortnose sturgeons and some herring, although salmon is by far the most important commercially. The nature of anadromous stocks, particularly salmon, is virtually determinative of effective policy for their conservation. Recognizing this, Article 66 of the LOS Convention provides that the States in whose rivers such fish spawn (the States of origin) shall have the primary interest in and responsibility for such stocks. | |
| annual (or seasonal) total mortality rate | |
| The number of fish which die during a year (or season), divided by the initial number. Also called: actual mortality rate. | |
| archipelagic State | |
| According to the LOS Convention (Article 46(a)), an archipelagic State means a State constituted wholly by one or more archipelagos and may include other islands. Article 46(b) of the LOS Convention defines an archipelago as a group of islands, including parts of islands, inter-connecting waters and other natural features which are so closely inter-related that such islands, waters and other natural features form an intrinsic geographical, economic and political entity, or which historically have been regarded as such. These definitions do not include mainland States which possess non-coastal archipelagos, such as Denmark (with the Faroe Islands), Ecuador (with the Galapagos Islands) or Spain (with the Canary Islands) but would appear to embrace a number of States which would not normally consider themselves to be archipelagic States, such as Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Such States may draw straight archipelagic baselines which join the outermost points of the outermost islands and drying reefs of the archipelago (Art. 47(1)). | |
| artisanal fishing | |
| Also known as subsistence or sometimes aboriginal fishing, artisanal fishing refers to fishing for subsistence needs by coastal or island ethnic and indigenous groups using traditional methods. | |