Glossary |
B |
| baseline | |
| A baseline is a line drawn between the land and internal waters of a State and the sea and from which the extent of any maritime zones claimed by a coastal State are measured. Under the LOS Convention, the normal baseline is the low-water line of coasts of mainlands and islands (LOSC, Art. 5), although slight modifications to this rule are permitted in a number of situations: for example, inter alia, atolls or islands with infringing reefs (Art. 6); localities where the coastline is deeply indented (Art. 7); mouths of rivers (Art. 9); bays (Art. 10); ports; and archipelagic States (Art. 47). | |
| bay | |
A bay (bordered by a single State) is defined in the
LOS Convention (Art. 10) as:
Special rules apply for the determination of baselines: a closing line of up to 24 nautical miles may be drawn between the natural entrance points to the bay or, where this distance exceeds 24 n miles, the line may be drawn within the bay in such a manner as to enclose the maximum area of water that is possible with a line of that length. Some bays which have long been accepted as internal waters in their entirety, known as "historic bays", may have longer closing lines. |
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| billfish | |
| Fish such as marlins, sailfish, spearfish and swordfish, which are classified as highly migratory in Annex I of the LOS Convention and which have a snouts extended into a bill or "spear." | |
| biological diversity | |
| The term biological diversity (commonly contracted to 'biodiversity') is the collection of all species and life forms on Earth. It is defined in terms of genes, species and ecosystems which are the outcome of all natural evolution. It comprises variability among living organisms, including genetic diversity, diversity within and between species and diversity within ecosystems. It is defined in Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity as: "the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems." "Biological resources" are further defined to include "genetic resources, organisms or parts thereof, populations, or any other biotic component of ecosystems with actual or potential use or value for humanity." | |
| biologically acceptable limit | |
| A value of a critical biological indicator (e.g. spawning biomass) considered as the limit below which the stock sustainability cannot be ensured or below which the probability of a negative outcome (e.g. stock collapse) is unacceptable. | |
| biomass | |
| Measure of the quantity, usually by weight in pounds or metric tons, of a stock at a given time. | |
| bottom trawl IMAGE | |
| These trawls are designed and rigged to work near the bottom. Two types may be distinguished: low opening trawls, especially adapted to the capture of demersal species, such as beam trawls and shrimp, sole or nephrops trawls; and high-opening trawls, suitable for the capture of semi-demersal or pelagic species. | |
| bycatch | |
| The term 'bycatch' is commonly used in scientific and legal literature, although it has been subject to a variety of interpretations, some of which are overlapping or contradictory. It is perhaps best used as a general term to mean marine life which is caught in the nets but which was not being targeted. Technically, however, a distinction is made between retained bycatch ("incidental catch") and discarded bycatch ("discarded catch") and dropouts. | |