Dictionary of Ichthyology

Brian W. Coad and Don E. McAllister^†  

Revised: 16 November 2008

B

B = biomass, q.v.

B 20% B-virg = level of spawning stock corresponding to a fraction (here 20%) of the unexploited biomass. Virgin biomass is estimated as the point where the replacement line for F=0 intersects the stock-recruitment relationship or as the biomass from a spawning stock per recruit curve when F=0 and average recruitment is assumed.

B 50% R = the level of spawning stock at which average recruitment is one half (50%) of the maximum of the underlying stock-recruitment relationship.

B 90% R, 90% Surv = spawning stock corresponding to the intersection of the 90th percentile of observed survival rate (R/S) and the 90th percentile of the recruitment observations.

B₀ = virgin or unfished biomass (pronounced B zero). Rarely known. Using mathematical models, it is generally calculated as the long-term average biomass value expected in the absence of fishing mortality. In production models, B₀ is also known as carrying capacity. It is often used as a biological reference point in fisheries management.

B.C. = before Christ, used to designate years before the birth of Christ. Used in scientific dating for relatively recent events, e.g. fish remains in sub-fossil sites. Note there was no year 0.

B.P. = before present, conventionally before 1950 A.D.

B-grade = the third highest grade of freshness for fish in the European community.

bab = to fish for eels (Norfolk dialect).

bab net = bob net.

babber = bob (3).

babbing ground = a place to fish for eels (Norfolk dialect).

babble = a low and continuous murmuring sound as made by running water.

babel fish = 1) a universal translator in the book "A Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, consisting of a small, yellow and leechlike fish inserted into the ear.

babel fish = 2) an internet translation service.

baby = bass (Micropterus spp., Centrarchidae) too short to meet tournament standards; usually less than 14 inches (ca. 36 cm). Also called baby, dink, throw back, nubbin, pop corn, and slick.

baby tickler chain = bosum tickler chain.

bacalao = a term for dried salt cod used in Newfoundland (Spanish).

bacallaos = codland, the Bonavista-Cape Race coast of Newfoundland (from the Portuguese bacalhau, cod).

baccalao = bacalao.

baccale = bacalao.

bacaleau = bacalao.

baccalieu skiff = a small decked vessel or schooner used in the fishery off Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland.

baccalo = bacalao.

back = 1) cast (the terminal strand of a handline to which hooks are attached by short droppers).

back = 2) main line (the principal line in a longline from which branch lines depend with hooks attached).

back = 3) the headline, q.v., of a salmon drift net (northeast England).

back = 4) batings (northern Ireland).

back = 5) the perpendicular section of a cod trap opposite the doors.

back bar = channel plate (a u-shaped, steel bracing bar on the back of an otter board, q.v. Also called back channel.

back board becket = backstrop (a short wire or chain system between the otter board and bridle on an otter trawl).

back board chain = chain bracket (a chain used on an otter board in pace of a bracket. Also called angle iron chain, board chain, chain triangle, towing chain).

back bouncing = in angling, moving a boat slowly in reverse while using fishing lures or bait.

back burden = burden.

back channel = back bar.

back cord = the headline, q.v., of a beam trawl.

back creel = a wicker basket formed to fit the back, chiefly used by fishwives (q.v.).

back end feeder = a container with a few holes around its body that allows ground bait to be released slowly when angling. The bait is usually maggots that work their way out and help keep fish in the area where the angler has deposited his fishing rig.

back jouster = an itinerant fish-dealer who carried the fish in a basket on his back.

back lead = a break away weight attached to the main fishing line near to the bank of a water body meant to keep the line on the bottom. It can be tied separately by a line to a stick on the bank and have a clip attaching it to the main line. When a fish bites, the main line pulls up and out of the clip.

back line = the main line to the end of which is attached a cast (2) or pasternoster rig (both q.v.).

back net = the rear sections of the belly, batings and codend of a trawl.

back of line = end rope (a line connecting the end of the first or last section of a longline backrope or string to the dan line (all q.v.). Also called dumb string, longline, dummy, end tow, lud tow and spreadline).

back of net = square and batings (both q.v.) of a beam trawl as one section.

back plate = the central steel plate on the back of an otter board, q.v.

back reef = the shoreward side of a reef. It comprises the area between the reef crest or algal ridge and the land and it corresponds to the reef flat and lagoon of a barrier reef and platform margin reef systems.

back run = a smaller branch of a river, such as one that runs around an island (Newfoundland).

back shot = a piece of shot (a weight) attached to a fishing line behind the float, sinking the line, to help the float remain steady in heavy wind.

back split = a fish which has been split down the back by a cut made adjacent to the backbone in preparation for further processing as food.

back swamp = a marshy area separated from the main river by banks and at a lower level than the banks.

back trolling = moving a boat in reverse while fishing lures or baits. Allows control over speed and manoeuvering.

back-cast = throwing the fly line behind the angler before the forward cast carries it out over the water.

back-cross = the individual resulting from an interspecific hybrid mating with one of its parental species.

back-end vee = a salmon net with a v-angled section at the seaward end to entrap fish (Newfoundland). See also vee.

back-fin = dorsal fin (the unpaired fin(s) on the midline of the back. Also called the notopterygium. In Pleuronectiformes it is on the opposite side to the anus. In Centriscidae the hind end of the fish has been rotated under the fish so the dorsal fin is on the under surface. Abbreviated as D, D1, D2, or D3 respectively for the only, first, second or third dorsal fins (or their rays and spines). It functions to prevent rolling).

backbar channel = a channel behind a bar connected to the main channel but usually at a higher bed elevation than the main channel. May contain flowing or standing water and thus be a habitat for fishes.

backboard becket = backstrop (a short wire or chain system between the otter board and bridle on an otter trawl. Also called backstrop, board bridle, board leg, board strop, door legs, door strop and sling).

backbone = 1) vertebral column.

backbone = 2) a dorsal spine.

backing = 1) line added to the back of the main line so that the spool of an angling reel is filled up and the main line runs off freely when cast. Also provides extra line should a fish make a strong run but could lose the fish if cheap line is used.

backing = 2) main line (the principal line in a longline from which branch lines depend with hooks attached).

backing down = 1) the process of letting marine mammals such as porpoises and dolphins from a purse seine while retaining the fish.

backing down = 2) reversing a boat while pursuing a fish.

backing line = main line (the principal line in a longline from which branch lines depend with hooks attached).

backlar spine = one of those spines distinctively developed only in the males of Rajidae such as the alar and malar spines (q.v.).

backlash = a tangle of line from a reel's overrun. Also called professional spaghetti or professional overrun.

backpack shocker = an electroshocker on a frame used for sampling fish in streams and shallow waters.

backrope = the headline of a drift or ring net (all q.v.).

backrush = backwash.

backset = an eddy or countercurrent in water.

backshore = a part of the seashore covered by water only during extreme storms.

backstrap = backstrop.

backstroke = a mutant zebrafish (Danio rerio) gene resulting in complete lack of otoliths.

backstrop = a short wire or chain system between the otter board and bridle on an otter trawl. Also called backboard becket, backstrop, board bridle, board leg, board strop, door legs, door strop and sling.

backstrop equaliser = a block and swivel used as a rolling coupling to a single wire in place of two backstrops.

backstrop link = a triangular steel link with rounded corners on the back of a trawl's otter board. The backstrop is attached here. Also called board link, door sling ring, shearboard link and VD link.

backstrop norman = 1) a special u-shaped bolt to which the backstrop is attached. Also called eye.

backstrop norman = 2) any general attachment mechanism of the backstrop to the otter board of a trawl.

backstrop ring = a steel ring on the back of a trawl's otter board for attaching the backstrop.

backstrop roller = backstrop equaliser.

backswamp = a marshy low-lying area on a floodplain.

backwash = the seaward return of waves after they rush up onto the beach. Some fish species spawn in this wave action, e.g. capelin, Mallotus villosus. Also called backrush or run down.

backwater = 1) water turned back on its course by an obstruction or an opposing flow.

backwater = 2) the body or accumulation of water caused by the above especially when it overflows into lowlands.

backwater = 3) a stillwater section of a stream or river beside the main flow but separated by a ridge of land (or an arm of the sea similarly separated from the open ocean), or habitat at the margin of a riffle or run. Sometimes used for water that has backed up compared to its normal flow or for an area off the main part of a lake; often separated from the source during dry seasons.

backwater = 4) white water (frothy water in rapids, breakers or waterfalls).

backwater pool = 1) a pool formed by an eddy along a channel margin. An obstruction such as a bar or a boulder helps create the eddy. The pool may be separated from the channel by sand or gravel bars.

backwater pool = 2) a cove or flooded depression with access to a main stream.

backwinding = allowing a fish to pull line off a fixed-spool reel by winding the handle backwards.

backyard hatchery = family owned and operated fish hatcheries, small and usually found at the back of a house.

bacterial gill disease = a disease caused by unfaourable environmental conditions which then allow an invasion by myxobacteria; fish show a lack of appetite and cannot school properly. The gills show clubbing and fusion of lamellae.

bacterial kidney disease = a disease caused by a corynebacterium; fish show popeyes and large external welts. The kidney is often swollen, the liver pale and abdominal organs haemorrhagic.

bacterial gill disease = a myxobacterial infection of juvenile salmonids and ictalurid catfishes in aquaculture facilities, often breaking out in spring when the fish are growing and crowded in waters where oxygen is low and ammonia levels high. The gills appear off-white and slimy, clubbed and fused. Causes loss of appetite.

bacterial haemorrhagic septicaemia = a bacterial infection with Aeromonas liquefaciens, Aeromonas hydrophila or Pseudomonas affecting fishes of all ages, usually in spring. Usually associated with stress and overcrowding. Haemorrhages occur in the skin, fins, mouth cavity and muscles. Exophthalmia and cavity ulcers may occur. Also called infectious dropsy, red pest, freshwater eel disease, redmouth disease, pike pest and motile aeromonad septicaemia.

bacterial kidney disease = a bacterial infection with Renibacterium salmoninus or Corynebacterium sp. affecting salmonids, usually when temperatures are falling. The disease may be chronic or acute and has no treatment. Causes swelling of internal organs (oedematous, grey and corrugated kidneys with off-white lesions) and haemorrhages. Lesions may occur also in the liver and spleen and muscle contractions occur. External symptoms may be absent or include exophthalmy, skin darkening, abdominal swelling, and skin ruptures and vesicles. Also called Corynebacterial disease, Dee's disease and kidney disease.

bacteriocide = a chemical that kills bacteria, e.g. in an aquarium or with infected fish.

bacteriophagy = feeding on bacteria or having a large food component being bacteria, e.g. cave fishes, cleaner fishes, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Labeo rohita.

bacteriostat = a chemical that restricts the proliferation of bacteria.

bafflet = a wooden mallet for killing salmon used in Northumberland. Supposedly, it was very unlucky to produce the bafflet before the fish were drawn ashore.

bag = 1) the centre part of a Danish seine between the shoulders and cod end.

bag = 2) the belly and baiting of a trawl.

bag = 3) the fish court of a pound net.

bag = 4) the bunt of a purse seine or beach seine.

bag = 5) the cod end of a trawl.

bag = 6) bag limit.

bag = 7) to place a specimen in a container such as a plastic bag.

bag = 8) to catch a fish.

bag = 9) a net to keep cod temporarily until they can be loaded on a boat or towed ashore (Newfoundland).

bag = 10) a specific quantity of fish taken in a cod net (Newfoundland).

bag becket = the halving becket, q.v., of a trawl.

bag becket leg = hauling leg (a wire rope extension of the halving becket joined to the lazy deckie (both q.v.). Also called codend gag, gagline and lazy deckie leg).

bag limit = restriction in the catch by number or weight that an angler may take, generally on a daily basis. This may or may not be the same as a possession limit.

bag net = 1) a net for holding fish in aquaculture attached to the cage support frame.

bag net = 2) a conical or cubical bag-shaped net lifted from a boat.

bag net = 3) a conical bag-shaped net with short wings, fastened to poles or anchors, in strong current to strain out fish and lifted before the tide slackens.

bag net = 4) a net, of varying shape, deployed from a boat close to the sea bed. Baits are suspended just above the bag and the net is lifted once a sufficiency of fish has been attracted. A funnel type net may be attached to the mouth of the bag to prevent escape of fish.

bag net = 5) any net in which a fish enters a pocket.

bag off = keeping inshore fishery cod in a net shaped like a bag until the fish are brought ashore (Newfoudnland).

bag seine = a seine net (q.v.) with a bag or backward extension of netting in the middle of its length. The bag serves to concentrate the fish when hauling in the seine. Some seines have a bag at the side.

bag up = bag off.

bagget = baggit.

bagging = the final process in producing fish meal where the product is put in 100 lb bags after drying and grinding.

baggit = 1) a fish full of spawn (Scottish dialect). Also spelled bagget.

baggit = 2) the bed of roe deposited by salmon in gravel (Scottish dialect).

baggler = the fry of a trout (Scottish dialect).

baggot = baggit.

bagna cauda = a vegetable dip made from anchovies, butter, garlic and oil.

bagoong = fermented salt fish paste made from an anchovy-like fish (Stolephorus indicus) in the Philippines, or from young herring, packed in cans or bottles.

bagoong tulingan = a salted fish product made from tunas (Euthynnus affinis and Auxis thazard). The head and guts are removed, each flank slashed, and then flattened with the pressure of the hand.

bail = 1) to remove water from a boat.

bail = 2) a metal semicircular arm on an open-faced spinning reel that is folded back to allow line to be cast and engages the line after a cast and rewinds it onto the spool. Also called bail arm.

bail = 3) catching fish by emptying the water from a tidal pool or other small body of water.

bail arm = bail (2).

bail-top jar = a glass jar with a glass top and a rubber or neoprene gasket; a wire mechanism clamps the lid on the jar.

bailer = any container used to bail (1).

bailiff = an agent of the land owner who regulates the fishing rights and fishing regulations in relation to a stretch of water. They can in some cases arrest poachers, seize their tackle equipment and catch. They can also prosecute them and take them to court.

bailing = bail (3).

baird = a piece of old straw rope teased out and used as a torch to lure salmon to the surface by poachers (Scottish dialect).

bait = 1) natural or artificial foods placed on a hook or in a trap to attract and capture fish. Live bait includes various terrestrial and marine worms, maggots, and fishes.

bait = 2) the act of placing a lure or bait on a line.

bait additive = any compound added to an angling bait in order to increase its attractiveness to fish. The additive may be a dye for adding colour (red, yellow or orange usually) or a flavouring (diverse).

bait apron = an apron with pockets used by anglers to hold tackle and bait while wading.

bait ball = a small school of bait fish that form a ball in the water as an instinctive response to a predator. Also called meat ball.

bait bird = any sea-bird feeding on bait fish in inshore waters (Newfoundland).

bait board = a triangular piece of wood with two raised edges, used to cut up herring and other sea food in Newfoundland.

bait boat = 1) boats that fish for bait to be used in other fisheries, e.g. in Newfoundland a large undecked boat with 5-7 crew, propelled by oar and sail and used to catch capelin (Mallotus villosus) for the cod fishery.

bait boat = 2) in angling, a remotely-controlled toy boat for delivering groundbait or a rig to a selected location.

bait box = 1) a plastic container with a perforated lid used to hold bait, e.g. worms, maggots, casters, etc.

bait box = 2) a plastic or wooden container use to hold the bait used in commercial trawl fishing.

bait box holder = a plastic tray that screws into a bank stick and holds bait boxes convenient to hand.

bait casting = casting using a fishing rod and bait casting reel where the reel is positioned on top of the rod. Also called revolving-spool reel.

bait casting reel = a fishing reel in which the spool is not stationary during a cast but revolves, a level-wind reel, cf. spin casting reel. The reel is operated with the thumb and hand when casting.

bait colouring = various dyes, in both liquid and powder form, used to colour baits such as maggots, pastes and boilies. The commonest colours are red, orange and yellow.

bait depot = a facility where iced or frozen bait is stored for distribution to fishermen (Newfoundland).

bait dropper = a weighted device used to drop ground bait, q.v., at the desired location. It is attached to the anglers line. A latch its triggered when the dropper touches bottom, releasing the ground bait.

bait fish = 1) fish used to bait hooks either commercially or in sport fishing.

bait fish = 2) small fish eaten by predators.

bait fishing = use of hooks carrying relatively heavy natural food, left in the water to attract and capture fish.

bait flavouring = a concentrated liquid used to add taste to angling baits and groundbaits. Available in numerous types and concoctions.

bait hauler = a commercial fisherman who catches capelin, herring and other bait fishes (Newfoundland).

bait horn = a large sea shell used as a horn to announce the arrival inshore of the food and bait fish capelin (Mallotus villosus) (Newfoundland).

bait jack = a wooden tub or quarter barrel to hold bait.

bait net = any net used to catch fish used as bait for larger, commercial or sport fishes.

bait master = a man in charge of boat and nets sent from a banker to catch bait fishes (Newfoundland).

bait punt = bait boat (1).

bait rocket = a device attached to the end of the fishing line, filled with particle bait, and cast out over the area being fished. When it hits the water, it flips upside down and empties the contained bait.

bait seine = a seine used to catch anchovies, sardines and similar fishes to be kept alive in bait tanks to be used later as bait.

bait shed = a structure used for storing fishing bait in Newfoundland.

bait skiff = bait boat (1).

bait squadron = patrol vessels engaged in enforcing the Newfoundland Bait Act of 1888 which prohibits taking of bait fish by foreign fishing vessels or unauthorized provision of bait to such vessels.

bait tree = catalpa (Catalpa speciosa), a North American tree, so-called because it provides a home for numerous caterpillars used as bait for catching fish.

bait tub = bait jack.

bait well = a floating container, weighted to keep it stable, used to store bait fish alive.

bait yaud = a woman who gathers bait for fishermen (English dialect).

baiter = a boat catching capelin and herring (usually) as bait for the cod fishery of Newfoundland.

baitholder hook = a hook of various styles with the addition of two, small, forward-pointing barbs in the top of the shank to prevent worms from slipping down the shank.

baitie = a fisher girl or woman, often family of fishermen, who gathered bait (Northumberland dialect).

baiting = 1) the quantity of capelin and herring (or squid) taken aboard a banker at one time for use as bait in the Newfoundland trawl fishery.

baiting = 2) the fishing voyage to the Newfoundland Banks, its duration fixed by the supply of bait aboard the vessel.

baiting needle = a long needle used to mount dead fish and other large bait items onto the tackle.

baitings = batings.

baitpump = a suction system used to gather benthic species as bait for fish.

baitrunner reel = an open face, rear drag reel with a lever at the back. The spool can be set so line can be pulled out freely by a fish. A drag mechanism is activated by the lever.

bakasang = a fermented fish product of Indonesia.

bakbar = the dorsal fin of a flounder (Scottish dialect).

baked herring = herring cooked by baking in an oven.

baklengi = a strip cut out lengthways from the back of a halibut (Scottish dialect).

bakravi = a fat strip, nearest the fins, cut from the back of a halibut (Scottish dialect).

bal bakwa = a salted whole fish with about 20% salt by weight, allowing controlled bacterial action for 6-8 months. Usually warmed in vinegar before serving and found in the Philippines.

balachong = a fermented and salted fish paste from Malaysia. Also spelled blachong. See also garum and trāsi, among others.

balance line = an angling or commercial fishing arrangement where the line has a metal or wooden spreader which has arms depending from it, each carrying a stretch of line and a hook. Any sudden load is adjusted by the bent spreader. Secondary balances can be added to make a system of hooks.

balanced = in angling, the optimal combination of tackle for catching a fish.

balanced diet = foods furnishing all the necessary nutrients required for proper nourishment of a fish. Compare basic diet.

balbakwa = a salted fish product of the Philippines. Usually a whole large fish with 20% by weight of salt added to allow controlled bacterial action during a 6-8 month ageing process. Warmed in vinegar before serving.

Balbiani's vitelline body = yolk nucleus or the dark circular body that appears in the cytoplasm very near the nucleus during the perinuclear stage of oogenesis.

balch = a stout cord used for the head-line of a fishing-net (British dialect).

balik = balyk.

balk = stakes covered with wattles arranged in a semi-circle on the sands so that fish are directed towards the nets as the tide recedes (British dialect).

balker = huer (formerly a sentry on a high cliff, pointing out pilchard schools (reputedly by waving a small bush) in Cornwall to seine netters. Also called conder, herring caller).

ball = 1) a large, rounded school, e.g. in some catfishes such as juvenile Ameiurus nebulosus, and in herrings, Clupea harengus. See also balls and fish ball.

ball = 2) said of sea-birds that pounce on a ball of fish or shoal of herrings.

ball mould = a hollow form in which balls of lead are cast as weights for fish nets.

ball-handle reel = a fishing reel with a spherical counterweight on its counterbalanced crank, e.g. found on New-York reels, q.v.

ballast = 1) a weight used to sink a fishing line.

ballast = 2) one of a series of weights along the footrope of a fishing net.

ballast = 3) stones, pebbles and sand, found in the stomach of such as the cod, and reputedly indicative of weather conditions (the fish swallow stones as ballast against an approaching storm) (Newfoundland).

ballast water = water contained in tanks on ships to improve their stability and buoyancy. This water can contain fishes and may be discharged in an area where the fish then become established as exotics.

ballomania = the compulsive syndrome of zoo and aquaria visitors to throw something, coins, marbles, keys, etc., at a static animal in order to provoke movement.

balloon fishing = in angling, the use of a balloon to suspend a bait at the desired depth.

balloon trawl = a light trawl operating off the sea floor.

balls = fish don't have them but are sometimes made into them. A ball of shredded white fish or cod and mashed potatoes, flour or other binding material, usually fried. Also called fish dumpling. See also catfish ball, fish ball and ball.

balsa float = a float in angling made of balsa and used with large shot (weights) enabling the angler to present bait to fish in fast and deep water.

balsa waggler = a short waggler, q.v., made of balsa tapering to a fine point used with fine tackle and small baits on canals and still waters.

Balta trawl = a deepsea trawl used by large stern trawlers.

balyk = dried (sometimes sundried), brined, cold smoked sturgeon, salmon and herring flesh, reddish in colour (Turkey).

banana = butterfly (an L-shaped steel plate shackled between the dan leno spindle and legs. Also called arm, boomerang, dan leno arm, dan leno bracket, dan leno spreader, devil's elbow, spreader bar).

banana fish = something that seemed like a good idea at the time, but wasn't (slang).

band = 1) a strip of pigment that contrasts with immediately adjacent pigment or absence of pigment. A vertical band is a bar, a horizontal band is a stripe.

band = 2) a vertical patch of pigment usually with well-defined margins, more extensive than a bar, running, for example, from the flank onto adjoining fins. Bands are sometimes defined as being oblique or diagonal in contrast to vertical bars.

band = 3) a longitudinal patch of pigment, usually running along the side of the body, broader and less distinct than a stripe, q.v.

band = 4) a region of similar structure or optical density laid down during growth of hard parts used in ageing. Also called mark, ring and zone.

band = 5) a strip of pigment that encircles the body.

band = 6) fish strung on a rope, especially from a salt tub when they are hung up to dry (Scottish dialect).

banding = light stripes on smoked fish where the fish was suspended or laid on a mesh and the smoke did not reach the fish.

bang = to push off in boats at random, without having seen any fish in the salmon fishery.

bangie = a man appointed to watch the Solway and Annan River in Scotland for salmon poachers.

banging = fishing in the manner of a bang.

bank = 1) an area where the depth of water is relatively shallow, but normally sufficient for safe surface navigation, and often excellent for fishing, e.g. the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. Can be 20-200 m in oceanic waters but as shallow as 0-5 m in nearshore or fresh waters.

bank = 2) the side of a river, the right bank being on the right when facing downstream.

bank = 3) the side of a lake or other water body other than a river.

bank = 4) a deepwater area extending offshore from the seaward edge of the fore reef to the beginning of the escarpment where the insular shelf drops off to the deep, oceanic water. In the absence of a reef crest, this form of bank is the flattened platform between the fore reef and the deep ocean waters.

bank = 5) an elevation of sand or mud in a river bed.

bank cod = cod populations on the Newfoundland Grand Banks.

bank fish = benthic fish.

bank fisherman = one who engages in the cod fishery on the offshore fishing grounds of Newfoundland.

bank fishery = the cod fishery of Newfoundland carried out on the Grand Banks.

bank fishing = fishing for cod on the offshore grounds of Newfoundland, usually with trawls or hook and line.

bank hook = 1) type of fish-hook used in hand-line fishery for cod offshore (Newfoundland).

bank hook = 2) a large fish-hook, so called from being baited and laid in brooks or running water and attached by a line to the bank (English dialect).

bank line = type of stout line or rope used in the deep-sea fishery (Newfoundland). See also banking cable.

bank man = 1) bank fisherman.

bank man = 2) a vessel in the offshore cod fishery (Newfoundland).

bank protection = stabilisation of river banks to prevent erosion, prevent deposition of material in the stream and conserve fish habitat.

bank reef = large reef growths. These usually are of irregular shape and develop over submerged highs of tectonic or other origin. They are surrounded by deeper water.

bank ship = bank man (2).

bank storage = water absorbed in the bank of a stream or reservoir and returned to the water body when water levels fall.

bank-book = bank book.

banker = 1) a fishing boat used on the banks off Newfoundland.

banker = 2) a Newfoundland fisherman of the bank fishery.

banker = 3) the owner or operator of an offshore fishing vessel (Newfoundland).

bankfull discharge = the stage at which a river first overflows its natural banks.

banking = fishing for cod on the Newfoundland offshore banks.

banking account = a financial balance sheet of a sea fishing enterprise on the Newfoundland banks.

banking anchor = type of ship's anchor used aboard a deep-sea fishing vessel.

banking cable = heavy 5 cm rope used aboard vessels engaged in the offshore trawl fishery of Newfoundland.

banking dory = a dory (q.v.) used on the Newfoundland banks.

banking fleet = a number of banking vessels.

banking line = banking cable.

banking outfit = fishing gear and supplies of a vessel engaged in the bank cod fishery (Newfoundland).

banking schooner = banking vessel.

banking vessel = a deep-sea fishing boat, decked and rigged fore-and-aft or powered by an engine, prosecuting the cod fishery on the offshore banks of Newfoundland with hand-lines and trawls operated from small open boats or dories.

banking voyage = the enterprise or period of fishing for cod on the offshore banks of Newfoundland.

bankstick = usually a stainless steel or aluminium rod that holds a fishing rod off the ground at the right angle. A threaded end allows attachment of a Y- or U-shaped rod rest, of a bait box holder, of a keepnet, etc. while the other end is pointed for insertion in the ground. Used in Europe where fishing rigs are left for some time in a fixed position waiting for a bite.

bar = 1) a vertical or diagonal patch of pigment usually with well-defined margins (straight sides), often on the flank of a fish; shorter than a band and/or not encircling the body (cf. stripe, an elongate horizontal patch of pigment).

bar = 2) a submerged or exposed ridge in rivers, lakes or the ocean deposited where there is a decrease in flow.

bar = 3) one of the four sides of the mesh of netting.

bar = 4) an area of shoal water at the entrance to an estuary or harbour.

bar = 5) an establishment frequented by ichthyologists (wet bars are favoured of course).

bar = 6) any net or barrier placed in a river to block or bar fish movements and capture the fish.

bar = 7) the fins of a fish forming a fringe (Scottish dialect).

bar = 8) a strip, including the fins, cut from a halibut (Scottish dialect).

bar cut = a cut in netting parallel to the line of sequential mesh bars.

bar net = 1) a gill net with ropes or wooden bars attached vertically used as a gill net or a trammel net.

bar net = 2) the vertical net extending out from a cod trap to obstruct passage of cod and lead them into the trap.

bar net = 3) any net stretched across a river to bar and trap fish.

bar rig = a leader about 1 metre long with a weight at the end and a swivel at the point of attachment to the fishing line. Additional leaders with a hook at the end are attached about 35 cm from the weight and about 35-45 cm up the mainline.

bar seine = net used to close off a small cove so that fish can be taken out with a small seine, e.g. herring in Newfoundland. Also called stop seine.

bar spoon = spinner (a lure consisting of a wire shaft with a hook(s) and a blade that spins when pulled through the water. Variously coloured and decorated with feathers, fur, beads and plastic additions).

bar tackle = rope used to constrict a cod trap when filled with fish (Newfoundland).

barachois = a shallow river estuary, a lagoon or a harbour protected from the sea by a sand bar or low strip of land. May be fresh or salt water (Maritime Canada). Also spelled barrachois and barrisois. See also barasway, barrasway, barrisway, and barrysway.

barasway = barachois.

baray = a large artificial reservoir bounded by dykes in Cambodia, filled by rainwater and diverted rivers. Arguably for irrigation but also symbolised the mythical ocean surrounding Mt. Meru, the home of the gods, and usually surrounding a temple complex. Can be as long as 8 km, 2.2 km wide with dykes up to 17 m high.

barb = 1) another term for spinule (a small spine projecting from a larger spine).

barb = 2) the inward projecting point of a fish hook that prevents a fish from getting off the hook.

barbecued fish = fish roasted or grilled over an open charcoal fire (or its modern equivalent). Served hot.

barbed bone point = a barbed point made of bone and bound to a spear shaft using twine wrapped around grooves on the bone.

barbed tributary = a steam whose upper reach flows in the opposite direction to the lower reach and is evidence of stream capture. The area of flow reversal is called the elbow of capture.

barbel = 1) a slender fleshy process located close to the mouth, usually possessing tactile and/or gustatory sense, and useful in identification, e.g. in Acipenseridae, Gadidae, Ictaluridae, Cyprinidae.

barbel = 2) a petticoat worm by fishermen at Folkestone. See also barvel.

barbel section = barbel zone.

barbel zone = a European river classification system based on species, in this case the cyprinid Barbus barbus, as characteristic; a gravelly-sandy bottom, with moderate current.

barber fish = cleaner (a fish which picks dead tissue and parasites off other fishes. Cleaner fish may establish a cleaning station and have a particular behaviour which clues other fishes into their function and prevents them from being eaten).

barbless hook = a hook lacking the barb and thus causing less damage to fishes when caught and when unhooked.

barbule = a small barb or barbel.

barf house = a Yarmouth (England) dialect term for the shed where the first stage in curing herrings takes place.

barge = a large boat used to collect, hold and process the cod catch in the Strait of Belle Isle and on the Labrador coast.

bark = 1) a liquid made by steeping the bark and buds of conifers. Formerly used to preserve fish nets and sails in Newfoundland before synthetic materials were introduced.

bark = 2) soaking nets and sails in bark (Newfoundland).

bark = 3) a noise made by certain fishes has been likened to barking, e.g. the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, produces sound when ridges on the ventrolateral surface of the pectoral fin spine's dorsal process rub against the ventrolateral wall of the cleithrum's spinal fossa.

bark boiling = the preparation of bark preservative (Newfoundland).

bark pot = an iron cauldron in which an infusion of bark was prepared (Newfoundland).

bark tub = a wooden container in which nets and sails were soaked in an infusion of bark (Newfoundland).

barking = bark (2).

barking kettle - bark pot.

barking pan = pans in which fishing nets are steeped.

barlopen = said of fish having blisters ion the fins (Scottish dialect).

barloppin = barlopen.

baroclinicity = a state of water column stratification in which surfaces of constant pressure and constant density intersect.

barotrauma = an injury that results from rapid or extreme changes in pressure. Found in fishes pulled from depths rapidly or in humans where may simply be a discomfort in the ear based on differing pressures on either side of the ear drum.

barotropicity = a state of water column stratification in which surfaces of constant pressure and constant density coincide.

barr cut = a longitudinal slice of halibut (Scottish dialect).

barr mark = a vertical strip of pigment on a fish.

barrachois = barachois.

barrage = dams or weirs obstructing fish movements and thus facilitating their capture; also used to control water flow, raise water levels or generate power.

barrage pond = a pond created by damming and excavation.

barrage lake = a larger version of a barrage pond.

barrasway = barachois.

barred = said of a net enclosing a school of fish.

barrel = 1) a measure of liquid volume, 119.24 litres or 158.99 litres, 31.5 U.S. gallons or 42 U.S. gallons, 262.8 lb water or 34.97 Imperial gallons, but can vary.

barrel = 2) a rounded wooden container used to pack fish. A barrel of fish can be 200 pounds or 90.72 kg in the U.S.A. while a barrel of herrings used to be 32 pounds or 14.51 kg in England. See wet barrel.

barrel = 3) an approximate measurement of fish sucha s cod in newfoundland taken from a net or trap.

barrel = 4) an indication of the size or capacity of a fishing boat.

barrel bones = the rib bones severed by filleting and remaining in the edible part of a herring or kipper fillet.

barrel tub = a barrel sawn in two and used for various fisheries purposes (Newfoundland).

barreled salted cod = split slated cod packed in brine in barrels.

barrel knot = a knot used to join to pieces of line together or to join a line to a leader. Various websites have animated steps showing how to tie this knot.

barricade = a barrier used to lead fish into an enclosure, e.g. fyke net, pound net, etc.

barrier = stakes, branches, reeds or netting temporarily or permanently fixed to the bottom in tidal waters arranged to trap fish.

barrier bank = a shelf-edge bank separating inshore waters from the deep ocean. Rich in nutrients, and fish stocks, from ocean upwelling that washes over the barrier bank, e.g. Georges Bank on the Atlantic coast of North America.

barrier beach = a bar parallel to shore high enough to be above high water. Separated from the mainland by open water (lagoons, bays and estuaries) or by salt marshes. Also called barrier island and offshore barrier.

barrier dam = a low dam on a stream used to divert water, block fish migration or guide fish into a fishway.

barrier island = a long and low barrier beach detached between two inlets.

barrier lake = an area flooded by a dam.

barrier net = stakes, branches, reeds, netting, etc. usually constructed in tidal waters and trapping fish as the tide recedes. Differs from fixed gillnets which, when the tide ebbs, may eventually allow the fish not entangled or gilled to pass freely underneath their bottom line. Includes fences, weirs, corrals.

barrier reef = a coral reef some distance from shore with a lagoon or estuary between it and the shore.

barrier spit = a barrier island connected to the mainland.

barrisois= barachois.

barrisway = barachois.

barrow (noun) = 1) a flat, rectangular wooden frame with handles at each corner, made for two men to carry cod. Also called fish barrow, drudge barrow and dredge barrow.

barrow (verb) = 2) carrying cod using a barrow.

barrow tub = a wooden tub or half barrel with handles attached for two men to carry salt cod (Newfoundland).

barrysway = barachois.

barter shop = a store in Newfoundland where fish could be exchanged for goods.

barvel = an apron of leather, canvas or oilskin worn while cleaning fish in Newfoundland. See also barbel (2).

basal (adjective) = 1) at or towards the base; pertaining to the base.

basal (adjective) = 2) opposite of derived, q.v. The condition or species regarded as the starting point in the evolution of a character or species.

basal (noun) = 3) a proximal radial notably larger than the middle or distal radials (fin ray supports to the median fins).

basal field = the anterior quarter of a fish scale, normally overlapped by the preceding scale.

basal group = the earliest diverging group within a clade.

basal plate (of a scale) = fibrillary plate (the fibrous lamella or disk forming the base of a teleost scale).

basal process = parapophysis (plural parapophyses)(a long, transverse process arising from the abdominal vertebral centrum. Parapophyses serve to support epipleural ribs (q.v.) when present and, in Gadidae, the gas bladder. In Clupeiformes they are not fused to the vertebrae. Also called transverse process and basopophysis).

basalia = the fused radials or pterygiophores at the base of a fin. Also termed basipterygia.

basapophysis (plural basapophyses) = parapophysis (plural parapophyses)(a long, transverse process arising from the abdominal vertebral centrum. Parapophyses serve to support epipleural ribs (q.v.) when present and, in Gadidae, the gas bladder. In Clupeiformes they are not fused to the vertebrae. Also called transverse process and basopophysis.

basapophyses = plural of basapophysis.

base = proximal part between origin and insertion of fin, extending distally for some distance and supported by skeleton. In the caudal fin, the thickened longitudinal part enclosing the vertebral column and between the epaxial and hypaxial lobes or webs of the fin. In denticles, the anchoring structures that hold these scales in the skin, often with four or more lobes. See also base of fin.

base case = the “typical” or “current” or “reference” case used in stock assessment (including simulations) as the basis for comparisons of management options and formulation of management advice.

base flow = 1) flow of a river composed entirely of groundwater from springs, or from groundwater and lakes excluding surface runoff from precipitation.

base flow = 2) discharge in a stream channel not from runoff and without man-made regulation.

base level = the level below which a land surface cannot be eroded by running water, e.g. a lake; the mouth of a river; the ultimate base level being the sea.

base line = the tolerance level of an organism to a particular substance concentration.

base of fin = region of fin where it arises from the body, between the origin and the insertion.

base port = the port from which fishing units operate, irrespective of where they are registered (homeport).

base runoff = sustained or fair-weather runoff. This is mostly groundwater effluent for most rivers and streams.

basel = bassle.

baseline = the line from which the seaward limit of state's territory is measured. Usually the low-water line.

baseline discharge = base flow.

baseost = the distal radial or pterygiophore supporting the fin rays. Also called intercalarium.

basibranchial = one of the deep median bones at the base of the gill arches below the hypobranchials. May occur on arches 1, 2, 3, 4, the last being cartilaginous. The dermal plates bearing teeth and associated with the basibranchials are a separate structure. Each of the basibranchials may be called a copula and the first is named the basihyal.

basibranchial copula = fused basibranchials in Elasmobranchii.

basibranchial teeth = the teeth on the basibranchial bone, behind the tongue and between the gills. Often incorrectly called “hyoid” teeth.

basibranchiostegal = gular plate (the median or paired, dermal, flat bone(s} between the lower jaws of primitive Teleostomes, below the basibranchials. There is a median gular in Amiidae and some Elopidae, Megalopidae and Albulidae, in some Dipnoi there is a second, posterior median plate while others have two pairs of gulars lateral to the median plate, and in Latimeria, Polypterus and Calamoichthys there is a median plate and a lateral plate on each side).

basic diet = foods which provide the elementary nutritional requirements to assure normal development. Compare balanced diet.

basic slag = artificial fertiliser containing phosphate; obtained as a by-product of the steel manufacturing process.

basic type = the primary type, q.v., of a taxon.

basicaudal = on the base of the caudal fin.

basicaudal spot = a spot on the base of the caudal fin, common in many unrelated fish species.

basicrania = plural of basicranium.

basicranial fenestra = a large opening in the oticoccipital area below the notochord, e.g. in Sarcopterygii.

basicranium (plural basicrania) = the base of the braincase, usually composed of parts of the basioccipital, basisphenoid and otic capsule.

basidorsal = the cartilage structure above a vertebral centrum, forming the side walls of the neural canal between the interdorsals.

basihyal = the cartilage supporting the tongue at the anterior end of the hyal series in Elasmobranchii. It is the anteriormost median endochondral bone of the basibranchial series, joining both branches of the hyoid series and forming the tongue skeleton in Teleostei. Dorsally is may have a dermal tooth plate called the glossohyal. The basihyal does not always ossify, e.g. in Salmonidae. Also called basihyobranchial and dermal basihyal.

basihyal dental plate = lingual plate (a dermal toothed bone covering and sometimes fusing with the basihyal, e.g. in Osteoglossidae. Also called glossohyal, dermentoglossum, supralingual or basihyal dental plate).

basihyobranchial = basihyal.

basin = 1) that part of a watershed that slopes towards a common low-lying area where all surface and subsurface water drains, i.e. an area drained by a river and its tributaries.

basin = 2) a vessel less deep than wide as used in aquaculture for holding fishes.

basin = 3) a harbour for small craft.

basin = 4) a hollow containing water, either natural or artificial.

basin = 5) any large depression in which sediments are deposited.

basioccipital = the deep, median, endochondral bone at the posterior end of the parasphenoid on the ventral side of the posterior end of the skull. The bone with which the anterior-most vertebra articulates, it also forms the ventral part of the foramen magnum. In Cyprinidae it bears a posterior expansion forming the pharyngeal process.

basinym = basionym.

basionym = the original name of a taxon subsequently replaced by another using the same stem, as a result of a change in rank or position of the taxon.

basipharyngeal joint = a protuberance on the top of the upper pharyngeal jaw meeting the bottom of the skull in Cichlidae.

basipterygia = plural of basipterygium.

basipterygium (plural basipterygia) = one of the endochondral fused radials or pterygiophores at the base of a fin, particularly the pelvics. The two chondral basipterygia of the pelvic fin meet anteriorly at the pubic symphysis to form the pelvic girdle. The body of the bone is called the pubic plate and bears an acetabular facet for articulation of the fin rays or the radial bones. An anterior process is known as the pubic process, a middle as the iliac process and a posterior as the ischial process. Also called basalia or pelvic bone. It articulates with the antimere, q.v., the corresponding bone on the opposite side.

basis cranii = the shelf formed by wings of bone developed from the inner sides of the prootics which meet and form a roof to the myodome and a floor to the brain cavity.

basis species = any species or group of species open to directed fishing by an authorised vessel.

basisphenoid = the small, Y-shaped, deep, endochondral cranial bone ventrally covered by the parasphenoid and medial to the pterosphenoids forming part of the floor of the neurocranium and the base of the posterior myodome. The bone ossifies from the medial belophragm and two lateral meningosts that form the wings. It is cartilaginous in Ostariophysi and lost in, e.g., Gadidae.

basiventral = the cartilaginous elements on the underside of the vertebral centra which enclose the haemal canal in Elasmobranchii and Holocephali.

basket trap = a barrel-shaped trap, variously made of bamboo, wood, vines or wire netting, with funnel openings in series used to capture fishes.

basking = lying near the surface, usually with the dorsal and caudal fins exposed.

basnig = a type of lift-net suspended from a boat. Used in the Philippines, for example, where fish are attracted by a light over the spot where the lift-net is pre-positioned. See also stick-held dip-net.

basolateral = sides and base of a structure. In gills, refers to the sides not in contact with water.

basonym = basionym.

basophilous = thriving in alkaline habitats.

bass = 1) a common name for various, unrelated fishes including various large marine species (e.g. sea basses, Serranidae, temperate basses, Moronidae) and the more familiar sport fishes in North American fresh waters (Micropterus spp., Centrarchidae). Bass is derived from an Old English word.

bass = 2) a basket for carrying fish (Scottish dialect).

bass boat = a boat designed for bass fishing (Micropterus spp.). Has a large outboard motor, livewells, electronic location gear, raised casting platform in the bow and sometimes in the stern, and an electric trolling motor.

bass bug = large floating flies made of deer hair and/or cork bodies used to catch North American freshwater basses.

bass bug taper = a weight forward floating fly line with a short front taper and a short but thick belly so that bass bugs can turn over (straighten out).

bassalian = deep-sea.

bassel = bassle.

bassle = to splash or make quick movements as a fish on the water surface or in the bottom of a boat (Scottish dialect). Also spelled bassel or basel.

bastard = 1) small cod not large enough for commercial sale in Newfoundland.

bastard = 2) hybrid (from French and German).

bastard = 3) resembling a known kind or species but not truly such.

bat = a fishery on the Tweed River, so-named because the nets are hauled up on stones or bats as the bank is too high, e.g. Bailiffs bat, Davie's bat, etc.

batch = the quantity of fishery products processed under similar conditions over a distinct time period, always less than a day.

batch culture = a system for rearing animals and/or plants which involves the total harvest of the product by netting, draining or both, after a set period of time.

batch fecundity = number of viable eggs usually released by a batch spawner in one spawning.

batch spawner = a fish which sheds eggs more than once through a spawning season rather than within a short period (a fractional spawner).

bateau = a small, flat-bottomed boat squared off at each end with a lug sail (Newfoundland and Labrador).

bated = fish in good condition, plump (English dialect).

Batesian mimicry = the condition where a rare and harmless species (the mimic) closely resembles a common and distasteful species (the model) and thus escapes being eaten as it deceives a predator (the operator).

bath = 1) bath treatment.

bath = 2) immersion in boiling water to cook and preserve canned fish.

bath treatment = diseased or parasitised fishes may be treated by immersion in a solution or in an aquarium having various concentrations of chemicals.

bathile = pertaining to the floor of a lake more than 25 metres below the surface.

bathometer = an instrument used to measure water depth.

bathyal = pertaining to or living on the sea floor at a depth range of 200-4000 metres, on the continental slope and rise. Other sources state 183-1830 m, 1000-4000 m, 200-3700 m or 100-1000 fathoms.

bathyal zone = the seafloor at bathyal depths.

bathybic = pertaining to life on the deep sea floor.

bathydemersal = living and feeding on the bottom below 200 m.

bathylimnetic = pertaining to the deep waters of a lake.

bathymetric chart = a map of a water body showing depth contour lines.

bathymetry = the measurement of depth and relief in a water body.

bathypelagic = pertaining to the mid-waters below the level of light penetration between depths of 2000 and 4000 metres (or 900-3700m, 1000-6000 m, 1000-4000 m or 1000-2500 m, sources differ), e.g. Cyclothone microdon, Argyropelecus aculeatus and Gastrostomus bairdi are bathypelagic.

bathypelagic zone = the pelagic environment at bathypelagic depths.

bathyscaphe = a crewed, deep-sea diving chamber capable of descending to 10 km. Equipped with lights, observation ports and gear to collect specimens including fish.

bathysmal = pertaining to great ocean depths.

bathysphere = a spherical deep-sea diving structure capable of descending to about 900 m, now replaced by the bathyscaphe which is safer, more manoeuvrable and dives deeper.

bati = an cup in India used to measure carp fry or spawn, usually about 130-170 c.c., and containing up to a million eggs.

batings = the upper part of a trawl corresponding to the belly on the lower part. Also called baitings.

batteau = bateau.

batter = a mixture of dry ingredients such as flours or starches and water in a ratio suitable for coating seafood.

batter-coated fish = a prepared fish product, in the form of sticks or portions, coated with batter made from cereal products, a leavening agent and flavouring and partially cooked in hot oil to expand and set the batter. Also called batter-dipped and batter-fried.

batter-dipped = batter-coated fish.

batter-fried = batter-coated fish.

battered = fish product covered in a liquid mixture, usually egg and flour. This is usually partly cooked (pre-cooked) to set the batter in place before freezing.

battery = a collective noun (a noun that denotes a collection of persons or things regarded as a unit) for barracuda.

Battle of Herrings = a skirmish at Rouvray during the Hundred Years' War in 1429 over about 500 cartloads of herring under the command of Sir John Fastoff (probably a model for Shakespeare's Falstaff) the Duke of Bedford was sending to the army of the Duke of Suffolk besieging Orleans. The attack was beaten off by using the barrels as a barricade.

batty = a large catch of cod (Newfoundland).

Baudelot's ligament = a ligament connecting the upper end of the pectoral girdle with the first vertebra or the posterior end of the cranium. May be ossified and may be homologous with a first rib.

Bauhini's valve = a ring-shaped structure, the valvula Bauhini, sometimes found between the mid-gut and the hind-gut.

bauk = baulk.

baulk = a row of salmon fishermen with halve nets (q.v.) (Scottish dialect).

baulk net = a net that swings up to let fish in during the flood tide and then down as the tide ebbs, catching the fish.

baulker = balker.

Baumé = a scale in degrees named for Antoine Baumé, used for measuring density in liquids, e.g. in brines used for preserving fish, 22ºBé equals 100% saturation. For liquids heavier than water, to convert from °Bé to specific gravity at 60°Fahrenheit, specific gravity = 145/(145-°Bé). Note that the Baumé scale also measures liquids lighter than water and the two scales do not overlap - 22ºBé (heavy) is not the same as 22ºBé (light).

bauplan (German) = a hypothetical, ancestral base plan for developmental patterning of the embryo.

bawb = to fish for salmon with a bob net (Berwick dialect).

bawb net = bob net.

bawber = one who fishes with an illegal bob-net, a salmon poacher (Berwick dialect).

bawley = a small fishing smack used on the coasts of Kent and Essex, generally about 15-20 tons, and no boom to the mainsail which is consequently easily brailed-up when working the trawl nets. Bawley's have a wet well to keep fish alive.

bawn = an area of beach rocks used for drying fish in Newfoundland. See also flake.

bay = a large and wide indentation in the shore of a lake or sea, larger than a cove, smaller than a bight or gulf.

bay price = the price paid for fish by a local outport merchant in Newfoundland.

Bayesian method = data analysed statistically with expert knowledge and beliefs. Bayesian methods make explicit use of probability for quantifying uncertainty. Bayesian methods are particularly useful for making decision analyses.

bayheads = fish livers and oatmeal (Scottish dialect).

baymouth bar = a bar extending partly or wholly across the mouth of a bay.

bayou = a term used in the southeastern U.S.A. for a bay, river channel, backwater, oxbow lake, creeks, marshy lakes, estuarial creek, lagoon, etc. characterised by sluggish or stagnant water, usually a secondary watercourse.

BC = 1) B.C. or before Christ. Used to designate years before the birth of Christ. Used in scientific dating for relatively recent events, e.g. fish remains in sub-fossil sites. Note there was no year 0.

BC = 2) abbreviation for buoyancy compensator.

BCD = abbreviation for buoyancy control device.

BCE = before the common era. Used to designate years before the birth of Christ in a non-Christian countries. Used in scientific dating for relatively recent events, e.g. fish remains in sub-fossil sites. Note there was no year 0.

beach = a sloped sediment shoreline composed of mud, sand, gravel, cobble or boulders, sometimes with beach rock.

beach boy = a boy employed at a fishing station to assist in curing fish on the stone beaches.

beach crest = the point at the limit of high tide storm wave run-up.

beach face = that part of a beach exposed to the action of wave uprush.

beach price = cost of fish at the landing point, not taking account of any transportation, handling or processing cost.

beach scarp = an almost perpendicular slope on the beach foreshore caused by the erosional action of waves.

beach seine = a net used to encircle fish in shallow water; usually operated by two people wading out from shore, the net has lead weights to keep the bottom on the sea floor and floats to keep the top of the net at or near the surface; there may be a bag extending back from the centre of the nets length to increase capture efficiency. The seine may be set from a boat but hauled in from the land. Also called shore seine, drag seine, draw net, haul seine, yard seine and sweep net.

beachmaster = a person responsible for curing and drying fish on shore in Newfoundland. Also called shoreman.

bead = small plastic or rubber balls with a hole through the centre used in angling for buffering lead weights and other structures in rigs, protecting knots, and to enhance noise in rigs.

beaded stream = a series of small pools connected by short segments of stream.

beadhead = a fly with a bead immediately behind the hook eye, helping the fly sink or float depending on the type of bead. Made of ceramic, brass, etc.

beak = the structure formed from teeth which are fused in the form of a beak, e.g. incisiform teeth in Scaridae used to detach coral pieces as food; in puffers upper and lower jaw teeth have a median suture, hence Tetraodontidae.

beam trawl = a trawl with short wings and a head rope attached to a metal or wooden beam 4-12 m long. The beam keeps the net open horizontally while metal frames on each end of the beam keep the net open vertically. The beam has metal runners to support it off the sea floor and the tapering bag net drags over the bottom. These trawls may have tickler chains to disturb the fish so the net does not ride over them. Experimental electrified ticklers have been developed to be less damaging to the sea bed. Beam trawls are used mainly for flatfish (and shrimp).

beam trawler = a vessel operating a beam trawl.

beard = barbels (archaic).

beat = 1) an area of waterside bank on either a river or lake, that is allocated to one or more fishermen for their exclusive use over a time period.

beat = 2) beet.

Beaufort wind scale = ranges of wind speeds which are reported as nautical miles per hour in marine weather forecasts while general weather forecasts report wind speeds in kilometres per hour. Beaufort values 13 to 17 have wind speeds in knots at 72-80, 81-89, 90-99, 100-109 and 110-118 without any verbal descriptions of sea conditions:-

Beaufort scale	State of air	Wind speed (knots)	Wind speed (km/h)	Sea conditions
0	Calm	0-1	0-1	Like a mirror
1	Light airs	1-3	1-5	Ripples
2	Light breeze	4-6	6-11	Small wavelets
3	Gentle breeze	7-10	12-19	Large wavelets, crests begin to break
4	Moderate breeze	11-16	20-29	Small waves, fairly frequent whitecaps
5	Fresh breeze	17-21	30-39	Moderate waves, many whitecaps
6	Strong breeze	22-27	40-50	Large waves begin to form, white foam crests more extensive every-where
7	Near gale	28-33	51-61	Sea heaps up, white foam from breaking waves blown in streaks along direction of wind
8	Fresh gale	34-40	62-74	Moderately high waves of greater length, edges of crests break into spin-drift, foam blown in well-marked streaks along direction of wind
9	Strong gale	41-47	75-86	High waves, dense streaks of foam blown along direction of wind, crests of waves begin to topple, tumble and roll over, spray may affect visibility
10	Whole gale	48-55	87-100	Very high waves with long overhanging crests, foam in great patches blown in dense white streaks along direction of wind, surface on the whole becomes white, tumbling of the sea becomes heavy and shock-like, visibility affected
11	Storm	56-63	101-117	Exceptionally high waves, small and medium-sized vessels may be lost to view for long periods, sea completely covered with long white patches of foam along direction of wind, everywhere the edges of wave crests are blown into froth, visibility affected
12	Hurricane	>63	>117	Air filled with foam and spray, sea completely white with driving spray, visibility very seriously affected

beaver pond = water backed up by a beaver dam, forming a habitat for fishes or obliterating a stream habitat and so causing loss of fish diversity.

beaver tail = the tail of the beaver was classified as fish in the Middle Ages, giving rise to the riddle "What swims like a fish, tastes like a fish, is a fish, and yet is not a fish?".

beck = a small stream, often in a mountainous area, with a stony bed and/or a rugged course (Viking).

beckett == a tough piece of cord by fastening the hook to the snood in fishing for conger eels (Kent dialect).

bed = 1) the bottom of a water body.

bed = 2) a circular area on the bottom of a lake or river cleaned out by fish for spawning, e.g. various sunfishes and basses (Centrarchidae).

bed = 3) a collective noun (a noun that denotes a collection of persons or things regarded as a unit) for eels.

bedding-in = line on a reel becoming trapped under coils of line already wound onto the spool.

bedform roughness = a measure of the irregularity of a streambed.

bedrock = a water bottom formed of unbroken rock strata.

beef of the sea = dried and salted cod.

beel = a small and shallow lake (India).

beelerin' = a burn alive with trout (Scottish dialect).

been jal = a bag net set in a tidal current, supported by bamboo poles and with float supported lateral wings (India).

beet = mending the broken meshes of a net (Cornish dialect).

beeter = a woman who mends nets (Cornish dialect).

beetster = beeter.

before present = conventionally before 1950 A.D. Abbreviated as B.P.

behead = removing the head of a fish.

beheaded stream = the lower part of a stream that has lost its upper part through diversion or stream capture.

behind = the position of a structure relative to another along the horizontal axis, e.g. a fin rearward of another fin. Not to be confused with beneath (underneath).

beikat = bykat.

bekko = ornamental carp or koi (q.v.), having black markings on a coloured fish.

beko disease = a microsporean infection in fish muscles.

belche = a line used in salmon fishing in the Severn River, England. It is used to pull up and close the net.

bell = gas bladder (a thin membranous, sometimes alveolated sac in the dorsal portion of the abdominal cavity. Contains a varying mixture of gases, not identical to the composition of air. May be one, two or three chambered. May be connected to the gut by a tube, the ductus pneumaticus (then called physostomous) or unconnected (then called physoclistous). May function as one or more of:- hydrostatic organ, sound producing organ, or, respiratory organ. Found in Actinopterygii. Often lacking in bottom fishes. Sometimes called swim bladder or air bladder, less appropriate terms).

bell buoy = a buoy equipped with a bell that sounds out with wave action.

bell sinker = a weight or sinker shaped like a bell. Also called casting sinker.

bellweather species = indicator species (a fish species whose status provides information on the overall condition of the ecosystem and of other species in that ecosystem; fish that are sensitive to environmental conditions and which can therefore be used to assess environmental quality).

belly = 1) the abdomen of a fish.

belly = 2) the bottom part of a trawl that drags along the sea bed.

belly = 3) the middle, constant diameter part of a tapered fly fishing line.

belly bloom = a ruptured belly wall in a fish that has severe belly burn.

belly boat = essentially a tube with a seat on which the angler sits, feet dangling in the water. The angler can fish in deep water and use scuba fins to move around.

belly burn = 1) damage to a fish abdomen through gut enzymes, especially seen in pelagic species.

belly burn = 2) a commercial measure of belly burn, from slight (not more than 25% of the belly wall affected and no part uncured), through moderate to high (over 50%, holes may be present, but not more than 10% of the belly uncured).

belly burst = perforation of the belly wall by action of gut enzymes; seen in fish that had been feeding and enzyme action was active before capture.

belly fin = pelvic fin (the paired fin which is located posterior, ventral or anterior to the pectoral fins (abdominal, thoracic or jugular in position). Also called ischiopterygium. It functions to steer, brake and propel the fish and acts as a keel. In the pelvic fin ray count usually all the rays are counted except a small ray preceding the first ray and usually bound so closely to it so as with reduced pelvics, the spine and the first ray may be bound together by a membrane and appear as one; both are counted, e.g. in Cottidae. Abbreviated as P2 or V).

belly flap = a loose piece of skin and flesh hanging from fish ribs in fish preparation. May be used for fat storage in some fishes.

belly line = a support and strengthening rope on each side of a trawl along the whole length of the belly.

belly sliding = an abnormal condition in a swimbladder that prevents the fish holding position in the water. Fish fry show thing this condition slide or hop along on their bellies and death results within a few days.

belly strip = a strip of meat taken from the belly of a bait fish. This strip can be trolled behind a boat and its fluttering attracts fish.

belophragm = the median ossification of the basisphenoid.

ben= silvery spring salmon of about 8 lbs in the Scottish Solway commanding a high price on the London market.

bench curing = dry salting (fish cured by stacking split fish between layers of salt so that they drain freely).

bench mark = a mark affixed to a permanent object to furnish a datum level, e.g. in tidal observations, river levels.

bend = 1) the curved portion of a hook, q.v. Also called shape.

bend = 2) an old word for a hook.

bend = 3) a sudden turn in the course of a water body, particularly a river.

bend = 4) to tie an artificial fly onto a hook.

bending-in = an old tradition at Brighton at the beginning of the mackerel-fishing season when a meal of bread and cheese is provided by the fishermen on the beach for all-comers.

bends = gas bubble disease (supersaturated gases (>125%) in water entering the the body fluids of fish causing bubbles, an embolism). Also called Caisson's disease or decompression sickness.

benthic = bottom-dwelling, pertaining to the sea, lake or river bed.

benthic cruising = the feeding mode of sturgeons, swimming over the bottom and sucking up food organisms with an everted mouth.

benthic pump = a deep-water upwelling that brings nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean to fertilise surface waters where phytoplankton, the basis of the marine food chain, thrive.

benthic-pelagic coupling = the cycling of nutrients between bottom sediments and the overlying water column.

benthivore = feeding on bottom-dwelling organisms.

benthon = a benthic organism.

benthonic = adjective from benthon. May be misused for benthic.

benthopelagic = pertaining to forms which hover or swim just over the floor of the sea, e.g. Halosauridae, Macrouridae, Moridae, Brotulidae; the depth zone about 100 metres off the bottom at all depths below the edge of the continental shelf.

benthophagy = feeding on benthos.

benthopotamos = living on the bed of a river or stream.

benthos = 1) organisms which live on the bottom of a water body, in it or near it.

benthos = 2) the bottom of a body of water including the sediment.

bentonite = a very fine clay often used to seal ponds.

benzoic acid = a food additive used to inhibit microorganism growth; restricted in use but is added to dried fish.

ber jal = a large seine net operated from boast on the Ganges River of India.

berg = an iceberg, a large piece of floating ice.

bergy bit = an iceberg the size of a house.

berley = any animal or plant matter spread in water to attract fish; groundbait (food used as an attractant for fish in angling. Bread crumbs is the most common base and a wide variety of additives and flavours are mixed in with anglers having their own recipes. Flavours can be sweet, spicy or fishmeal, for example). Also spelled burley in error.

Berlin method = a biological filtration for aquaria developed in Berlin and using live rock, q.v., a protein skimmer, q.v. and powerful water circulation.

Berlin system = Berlin method.

berm = a natural or artificial levee (an embankment constructed to prevent a river from overflowing, or to contain a farm pond, or a natural embankment formed by sediment deposit during flooding).

Berners, Dame Juliana = reputed author of "A Treatyse of Fysshynge with an Angle" from "The Boke of St. Albans" in 1496, the first evidence of fishing as a sport and the first literary treatment.

bernjoggel = a wooden fishing hook (Shetland Isles dialect).

berried = having berries (1).

berries = 1) sturgeon eggs as caviar. Also used for crustaceans.

berries = 2) salmon egg clusters enclosed in a mesh and used as bait in angling. When fresh, the egg cluster has a milky exudate that helps attract fish.

berry = one of the eggs of a fish or a crustacean.

berry fish = a cod with berry-like growth on the gills (Newfoundland).

berth (noun) = 1) a station on the fishing grounds assigned by custom or lot to a vessel, boat, crew or family (Newfoundland).

berth (verb) = 2) to place a fish net or trap in an inshore fishing station (Newfoundland).

Bervie cure = an old means of curing fish; split, brined fish heavily smoked with peat and partly decayed sphagnum moss which flamed up and cooked the fish. The product was a dirty blackish brown.

Berwick sauce = the water in which a salmon has been boiled, served as a sauce. Also called Dover sauce.

beryciform foramen = an opening in the ceratohyal of uncertain function in Beryciformes, sometimes reduced to a notch on the dorsal margin.

best fish swim near the bottom = valuable items are not obtained without trouble (slang). Some of the more tasty and desirable fish, like sole, are bottom swimmers.

bester = a hybrid between beluga (Huso huso) and sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus), a large but early maturing fish of potential use in aquaculture.

besting it = going to sea when the weather looks threatening, not setting out nets, and waiting to see whether the sky will clear or not (British dialect).

beta globulin = a blood plasma protein making up most fish immunoglobulins.

beta taxonomy = the process of arranging taxa into higher categories which reflect the evolutionary history of a group of organisms; phylogenetic reconstruction.

Bethsaida = the name of two villages, one on the western, one on the eastern, side of the Sea of Galilee, meaning "house of fish".

better = beeter.

better than a slap in the face with a wet kipper = a situation that could be considerably worse and hence one should be grateful.

Beukel, William = a fourteenth century Dutchman reputedly the first to pickle fish, hence pickle from his name (unlikely as pekel exists in medieval Dutch). Also spelled Bukelz and Beukelsen.

Beverton-Holt stock-recruitment model = a particular stock-recruitment formulation in which recruitment reaches an asymptote as stock size becomes very large.

bhasa-bada fishery = embanked saltwater marshes in India equipped with sluices to trap fish for growth and harvesting.

biapocrisis = how an organism responds to what it faces where it lives. Responses include reproducing, growing, moving, surviving, or not.

bi- (prefix) = two, twice or double.

bi-fly = any fly in angling which can be fished wet or dry.

bibliographic reference = the citation of the author's name and date of publication for a scientific name.

bibliography = an exhaustive list of references on any topic.

bicentric distribution = the presence of a taxon in two widely separated geographic areas.

bicht = bucht.

bichter = bighter.

bicolour = two-coloured.

bicuspid = with two points or cusps, usually applied to teeth.

bid = the end of the line or gut to which the hook is attached in fly-fishing (Shetland Isles).

bident = a fish spear with two prongs.

biennial = occurring every two years, lasting two years.

bifid = divided in two, e.g. a forked preopercular spine.

bifurcate = divided in two, forked.

bifurcation = a node in a tree connecting three branches. If one branch is directed or rooted, then one branch represents an ancestral lineage and the other two branches are descendent lineages. Also called dichotomy.

big fish = 1) a large fish.

big fish = 2) an important or influential person.

Big Fish = 3) a movie released in 2003, directed by Tin Burton, starring Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney. Based on the novel Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions by Daniel Wallace.

big fish day = a successful day of fishing for cod in Newfoundland.

big fish in a small pond = having a lot of influence over a small area.

bigd = a fishing lodge or stone huts in which fishermen lived during summer in the Shetlands (dialect).

big-game fishing = catching large marine fish for sport from a boat using a variety of heavy tackle.

big-game reel = any fishing reel that is large and made for marine trolling.

bigg = a fishing lodge (Shetland Isles dialect).

bigger fish to fry = something better or more important to do.

bight = 1) an indentation of the coast forming a large open bay.

bight = 2) the part of a line between the end and the standing part on which a knot is formed.

bight = 3) bucht.

bighter = the small stone attached to fishing lines to keep them down under water (Scottish islands dialect). Also spelled bichter.

bike seat = butt seat.

bilaterally symmetrical = capable of being halved in one plane such that the two halves are mirror images. All vertebrates, including fish, show this symmetry. Useful in that damage to structures of interest on one side need not make them inaccessible, e.g. scale counts.

bile house = boil house.

bilge water = water that collects in the bottom of a ship. Important in transportation of fish species into new localities where such exotic species may have devastating effects on native species.

bilgy fish = a foul smelling fish caused by rapid growth of anaerobic bacteria. Occurs when fish are stored under conditions where air is excluded, e.g. pressed against the side of a warm container. Also called stinker.

bill = 1) rostrum (a snout-like extension of the head).

bill = 2) the wages or share of the profit of a fishing voyage paid to men after deduction of expenses (Newfoundland).

billabong = an isolated pool, a stream filled with water only in the rainy season, or a backwater (Australia).

billfish = a general term for those fishes having a bill, e.g. swordfishes, Xiphiidae.

Billingsgate = the famous London fish market, and by association with the speech used there, foul and profane language.

Billingsgate language = foul or abusive language from Billingsgate, where the notorius fishwomen assemble to purchase fish.

billy-tub = a cut down barrel used for housing trawls or bait (Newfoundland).

bilobate = two-lobed; with two rounded projecting parts.

bilobed = divided into two lobes.

bilocular muscular stomach = a special stomach characterised by the presence of a large aponeurosis (flat tendon) at the bend of the stomach, the centrum tendineum. In this type of stomach the lesser curvature is usually considerably expanded and can no longer be designated as an angulus or fold. The musculature (mm. laterales (ventriculi)) radiates out fan-like from both sides of the centrum tendineum, producing two thick swellings and giving the whole structure the form of a laterally flattened egg, e.g. in Mormyridae.

bim = a grade of dried and salted cod shipped to the West Indies from Newfoundland.

bim fish = bim.

bimaxillary = premaxilla (one of the paired, superficial, usually toothed, dermal bones of the upper jaw, proximal or anterior to the maxillaries; in primitive Teleostomi they comprise the middle, in more advanced forms they may comprise the whole, of the oral edge of the upper jaw. Teeth may be present. In Diodontidae, the premaxillae are ankylosed and form a single bone. Absent in Chondrostei. In Holostei (Lepisosteus and Amia) the bone has two ossification centres and therefore is a double bone. Holostei and Teleostei have an ascending process anteriorly but these may not be homologous. Posterior to the ascending process in Teleostei there may be an articular and a postmaxillary process, and a posterior extension, the caudal process. Also called premaxillary, surmaxillary, or intermaxillary).

Bimini twist = a knot used in offshore trolling and double-line leaders. It forms a long loop of line stronger than the line itself for protection against abrasion. Various websites have animated steps showing how to tie this knot.

bin = a large compartment in a vessel for holding fish.

binary diet = dry ingredients, minced fish and fish oil prepared daily at a fish farm.

binary name = binomial name.

bind = 1) a quantity of 250 eels in 13th to 16th century England. Ten stikes makes a bind (each stike being 25 eels). Also used for other fish such as salmon. Also spelled binn.

bind = 2) a collective noun (a noun that denotes a collection of persons or things regarded as a unit) for eels.

bind = 3) a collective noun (a noun that denotes a collection of persons or things regarded as a unit) for salmon.

binder = a substance in fish feed used to hold the constituents together.

bined = a fifteenth century word for dressing sole (preparing this fish for consumption), no longer in use.

binn = bind (1).

binner = the person who catches fish by binning.

binnick = a small fish (English dialect).

binning = a method of catching trout by hitting rocks in a stream with a sledge hammer. This stuns the fish and enables the fisher to pick them up.

binomen = the combination of a generic (first word with its initial letter capitalised) and a specific name (second word, always lower case) which together constitute the scientific name of a species; any interpolated names are not counted as components of a binomen. Also called binomial name.

binomial name = binomen.

binomial nomenclature = the system of nomenclature in which a species, but no taxon or any other rank, is denoted by a combination of two names.

binoro = small fishes brined, drained and packed in dry salt (Philippines).

bio- (prefix) = life.

bio-ball = a plastic ball used as a filter medium in aquaria; a colony of bacteria on these balls act as a biological filter. Balls have the largest surface area for bacterial colonisation and filtering effect.

bio-economic equilibrium = the simultaneous biological and economic equilibrium in a fishery. In a single stock model, the biological equilibrium condition is that the rate of change of the stock be zero. The economic equilibrium condition is that there be no change in fishing effort. The driving force of effort is profit (or loss). In an open access fishery, the bio-economic equilibrium is given at an effort level where profit is zero and total fishing cost is equal to total revenue.

bio-economic modelling = a model establishing functional relationships between specific characteristics of the fishery resource and the activities of mankind to make use of such resource. It facilitates management decisions. As an abstraction from reality, the validity of a bio-economic model depends on the explicit or implicit assumptions about the biological and human processes it represents.

bioaccumulation = the concentration of toxic compounds in water through the food chain. As fish are often the final link in the chain, they may accumulate levels of chemicals in their flesh that are harmful to them and to humans. Even non-fatal levels may affect behaviour, growth and reproduction.

bioassay = 1) the use of an organism for assay purposes.

bioassay = 2) any quantitative biological analysis.

bioavailable = that part of a chemical contaminant in water, sediment, suspended matter or food which is in a form that can be taken up by a fish.

biocenose = the balanced association of animals and plants in a biotope, a natural assemblage; strictly the animal and plant associations excluding the physical aspects of the environment and so not the same as ecosystem. Also spelled biocoenose. Also called biocoen, biocoenosis or life assemblage.

biochemical oxygen demand = biological oxygen demand.

biochore = a group of similar biotopes.

biochrome = a type of chromatophore with natural pigments producing colours chemically, cf. schematochrome.

biocide = a chemical lethal or toxic to living organisms.

biocoen = biocenose.

biocoenosis = biocenose.

bioconcentration = the net accumulation of a chemical in tissues of a fish to levels greater than in the surrounding medium. This seems to be identical with bioaccumulation; the various definitions of both these terms being similar or different depending on the source - bioaccumulation may not involve the food chain in some definitions for example.

biodiversity = the variety and variability of living material in a given area (terrestrial and aquatic) in terms of genes, species and ecosystems. Also called biological diversity.

biodiversity hot spot = an area with an exceptional number of species including many endemics. See also hotspot.

bioencapsulation = the process of incorporating nutrients or medicines into living organism that can then be fed to the target fish, e.g. polyunsaturated fatty acids, important in early larval development, can be encapsulated in rotifers for feeding to marine fish larvae.

bioenergetics = the study of energy flow through ecosystems.

biofilm = 1) in the aquarium, a slimy and thin layer produced and inhabited by bacteria which carry out certain biochemical processes essential to the nitrogen cycle, q.v.

biofilm = 2) in the natural environment, aufwuchs (organisms and detritus coating rocks and plants in an aquatic environment often fed on by fish specialised as scrapers).

biogenic = changes in the environment caused by activities of living organisms.

biogenic amines = a type of amine formed from decarboxylation of amino acids in spoiled fish by the action of bacteria at temperatures above 10°C. Includes histamine (from histidine), cadaverine (from lysine), putrescine (from arginine), agmatine, spermine, spermidine and tyramine. Histamine causes scombrotoxism, q.v.

biogeographic province = a geographic area having unique physical and biological properties that affect the spatial distribution of organisms and their habitat.

biogeography = 1) the distribution of species defined by abiotic factors such as salinity, temperature, currents, etc.

biogeography = 2) the distribution of organisms defined by historical events such as migration, extinction, speciation, etc.

bioload = decaying algae, plants, fish food and excreta, etc that increase nitrites and ammonia in a fish pond.

biological diversity = the variety and variability of living material in a given area (terrestrial and aquatic) in terms of genes, species and ecosystems. Also called biodiversity.

biological filtration = aquarium filters using bacteria to break down wastes via the nitrogen cycle, q.v., into materials less toxic to fish.

biological fishery resource = a resource of value to fisheries.

biological indicator = a fish whose presence in a water body is indicative of certain environmental conditions.

biological integrity = the capability of supporting and maintaining a balanced, integrated and adaptive community of organisms. The community is one that a natural habitat of a region would support.

biological interaction = an interaction between species or stocks resulting from direct predation or competition for food or space, or both. Fishing will have strong impacts on other associated or dependent species.

biological noise = noise produced by living organisms such as fish.

biological overfishing = fishing levels higher than those required for extracting the maximum sustainable yield of a resource and when recruitment starts to decrease statistically. Spawning potential and stock biomass is below safe levels.

biological oxygen demand = a measure of the quantity of oxygen needed to incorporate or oxidise organic waste material into the environment or a measure of oxygen consumption over a fixed time period. A high demand will restrict the fish fauna. Abbreviated as BOD.

biological reference point = a fishing mortality rate or biomass that may provide acceptable protection against growth overfishing and/or recruitment overfishing for a particular stock. It is usually calculated from equilibrium yield-per-recruit curves, spawning stock biomass-per-recruit curves and stock recruitment data. Target reference points represent a desired level of fishing mortality or biomass while limit reference points represent either an upper boundary to the fishing mortality or a lower boundary of the biomass. Examples are F_0.1, F_MSY, F_max and F_med.

biological species = a species differing negligibly in morphology but remaining distinct because of ecological, physiological or ethological factors.

biological survey = collecting, cataloguing, processing and analysing a representative portion of the resident aquatic community to determine its structural and/or functional characteristics or the biodiversity.

biologically acceptable limit = 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 such as stock collapse is unacceptable. Also referred to as biologically safe limit.

biologically safe limit = biologically acceptable limit.

bioluminescence = light produced by an organism where chemical energy is transformed into light energy.

biomagnification (biological magnification) = a cumulative increase in the concentrations of a persistent substance in successively higher levels of the food chain; in aquatic environments fish are often the terminus of a food chain and have the most chemicals accumulated (PCBs may accumulate by a factor exceeding 250,000 that in water).

biomass = the weight, volume or energy of living material in a given area, sample, fraction such as spawners, stock or for one or more given species (species biomass), or of all the species in a biotic community (community biomass). In fisheries the weight of a fish stock or some defined part thereof; abbreviated as B. The biomass of a fishable stock (available to fishing gear) is the exploitable biomass.

biomass at MSY = the long-term average biomass value expected if fishing at F_MSY (the fishing mortality rate which, if applied constantly, would result in maximum sustainable yield. Can be estimated from simple biomass-aggregated production models or from age-structured models that include a stock-recruitment relationship). Abbreviated as B_MSY.

biomass set asides = a portion of a potential harvest set aside for some purpose other than being part of the catch. It is subtracted from the maximum sustainable yield to arrive at an allowable harvest. This reserved portion may be set aside as food for birds and marine mammals, for a trophy fishery, for research, etc.

biomass-weighted F = an estimate of fishing mortality in which F estimates for each age group are weighted by corresponding stock biomass at age. Used to make average F estimates from age structured assessments comparable to those obtained from surplus production modeling of all stock components.

biome = ecological regions as a result of complex interactions of climate, geology, soil type, water resources and latitude.

bionomics = the relation of an organism or a population to the environment and its organisms.

biophilia = a natural affinity for wildlife by humans.

bioregion = a region of the Earth with a distinctive environment and living organisms, for example a river catchment.

bioseston = the biological component of seston (particulate organic matter such as plankton, organic detritus and inorganic particles such as silt).

biospecies = a species in the sense of the biological species concept as a closed community of reproduction with a closed gene pool, i.e. reproductively isolated. Only applies to organisms that occur together at the same time and place and so does not permit assessment of allochronic and allopatric populations.

bioswale = landscaping designed to remove pollution and silt from surface runoff. The design allows maximum retention time for water to allow removal of pollution and silt and includes vegetation, compost and ripraps. May allow for some fish habitat.

biota = 1) all living organisms of a region.

biota = 2) as the adjective, influences caused by living organisms.

biotic = the adjective for biota.

biotic potential = the maximum rate that a population can increase when there are no limits on rate of growth.

biotin = a B-complex vitamin, a deficiency of which in fishes causes convulsions, reduced mucus production and blue slime disease.

biotope = an independent space of variable size with a unique ecology and environmental conditions necessary for survival of the species constituting the biocenose.

biotoxin = a natural toxin or poison produced by fish and other organisms, often as a defensive measure. See also toxin, poisonous fishes and venomous fishes.

bioturbation = the disturbance and re-working of bottom sediments by organisms that nest, live in or feed in or on the sea bed.

biotype = a particular combination of parental genomes. Unisexual biotypes are given hyphenated names that reflect their hybrid origin, e.g. Poeciliopsis 2 monacha-lucida is a triploid with a monacha x lucida x monacha ancestry.

biozone = the zone capable of supporting life.

biparental = both parents raising young.

bipolar = 1) said of distributions that are discontinuous between the northern and southern hemispheres (not necessarily in the polar regions).

bipolar = 2) occurring in both the north and south polar, regions, but not in the intervening area, e.g. certain Gadidae, Cyclopteridae and Cottidae.

bipolar cell = a cell in the eye which transmits the information generated by photoreceptors to the inner retina, i.e. primarily the retinal ganglion cells.

birch drum = a cylindrical wooden container in which dried Newfoundland cod were packed for the trade with Brazil.

bird = a paravane stabiliser or roll-damping device on small to medium-sized trawlers of the Northwest Atlantic, rigged on booms extending out from both sides of the trawler and towed by cables or chains a few metres below the sea surface. Also called flopper stopper.

bird fishery = 1) a fishery on Dojran Lake shared between Greece and the former Yugoslavia. Migrating birds feed on the fish in the shallow lake except where fishermen build a fenced area, open to the lake but kept free of birds by a watchman. Fish retreat to this protected area. Some of the birds, such as mergansers and crested grebes, are caught and their wings clipped. The entrance to the fenced area is closed off and the flightless birds are released into the area which has been divided into 20-30 chambers by loose mats, through which fish can swim but not the birds. The birds dive in the first chamber where they were released, chasing the fish from this chamber to the next. Fish too large for the birds to eat and too large to pass through the mats are left to be speared by the fishermen. The birds are then moved to the next chamber after access to the first one is blocked off by dense mats, and the process is repeated. All the fish in the last chamber are removed by a fyke-net.

bird fishery = 2) a less well-known use of birds is found on south Kalimantan in Indonesia. Ducks have been trained to chase the fry of snakeheads (Ophiocephalus sp.). The parents of the fish will then chase the duck to protect their fry, the duck is retrieved on a line, and the snakeheads snap at unbaited hooks in anger, thus being caught.

birdnet = a net around or over aquaculture facilities to prevent predation on fish by birds.

birdnest = birdsnest.

birdsnest = line on a reel entangled around the spool, or any bad tangle of fishing line.

birth rate = ratio of birth to population, usually a percentage.

birth-pulse population = a population assumed to produce all of its offspring at an identical and instantaneous point during the annual cycle.

biserial = 1) arranged in two rows or series.

biserial = 2) specifically in the fin bearing both preaxial and postaxial radials, long projecting bones, e.g. in Dipneusti.

bisexual = species in which both male individuals and female individuals are found; gonochoristic. See also unisexual.

Bismarck herring = whole herrings or blocks of herring fillets, without heads or guts, cured in acidified brine then packed with brine of low vinegar and salt content, sugar, sliced onions, cucumbers, carrots and spices such as pepper and mustard.

bisubtropical = occurring in both the northern and southern subtropical zones.

bit = bite (4).

bit of fish = coition (nineteenth century slang).

bite = 1) bight.

bite = 2) taking of bait by a fish. Also called bump, hit and strike.

bite = 3) the straight part after the bend on a hook, q.v. Also called spear.

bite = 4) a small piece of fish breaded or coated with batter, weighing less than 1 oz. Of various shapes such as round, square, or irregular. May be cut from regular blocks or blocks of minced fish. Generally sold by count, 25-35 per lb. Also called cubes, nuggets, petites, and tidbits.

bite alarm = any device that helps detect a fish bite on angling gear. Electronic units detect the speed and movement of line and have a buzzer or light.

bitemperate = occurring in both of the temperate regions of the globe but not in the intervening area, e.g. Hexanchus, Lamna, Zeus, Sebastes.

biter = a piscivore that bites off a part of its prey, e.g. piranhas.

biting = fish taking bait or lures.

bitter = a bitter taste is found in spoiled fish caused by bacterial degradation of proteins to bitter peptides. Urea found in Elasmobranchii has a bitter taste.

biverbal = pertaining to a name comprising two words that is not a binomen, q.v., according to the provisions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

bivie = a domed tent with a large opening so that anglers can fish from it but be protected against rain; usually green and strong to stand up to windy days. Popular in England!

bivoltate = two generations per year.

bivoltine = bivoltate.

bivvy = bivie.

blachong = balachong (a fermented and salted fish paste from Malaysia. See also garum, balachong and trāsi).

black ball = a marker attached to a trawl buoy for identification (Newfoundland).

black box = an automatic and electronic communication and location device placed on fishing vessels. Used to manage fisheries by monitoring date, time and vessel position, through a vessel identification number, in real time using satellites. Also called vessel monitoring system.

black carps = small carps or Chinese carps.

black caviar = a semi-preserve. grainy caviar, also known as dry caviar or pickled grainy caviar, and pressed caviar where the liquid is reduced for longer keeping.

black chin = a condition seen in aquarium cichlids, particularly those from the African Great Lakes, where the chin develops small grey-black spots or blotches which may spread back to the pelvic fins. May be related to high nitrate as the species involved are from low nitrate habitats (aquaria with nitrate <25 p.p.m. generally avoid this problem).

black fish = 1) commercial quantities of fish landed illegally.

black fish = 2) dark-coloured fish caught for food, e.g. fish in the Tonle Sap, a lake in Cambodia, that live there year-round and survive adverse conditions, cf. white fish (2). Taxa include Clarias, Channa, Anabas, Oxyeleotris.

black fish = 3) fish recently spawned (Scottish dialect).

black fisher = a fish poacher.

black fishing = fishing illegally by night, often using torches.

black grub = black spots in the skin of fishes caused by metacercariae of such trematodes as Uvilifer ambloplitis, Cryptocotyle lingua and others. Also called black-spot disease, q.v.

black haul = a fishing trip without any catch being made.

black lining = a black peritoneum (plural peritonea)(a membrane covering the body cavity (coelomic cavity) including the viscera. Often its color, light, speckled or black is of taxonomic significance. There are visceral and parietal peritonea, q.v.).

black mud = the sediment found in swamps, poorly managed fish ponds and in uncleaned tanks, rich in hydrogen sulphide and organic matter, and very foul smelling.

black nape = black lining, e.g. the nape of salted dried fish from which the thin back membrane has not been removed.

black oil = oil made from livers of haddock and other fish (Scottish dialect).

black salmon = kelt or a dark adult Atlantic salmon that has spawned but not yet regained weight or the silvery colour.

black smoker = a vent in a geologically active area of the ocean floor. Superheated water laden with sulphide minerals supports an ecosystem including fishes.

black tail disease = whirling disease (a parasitic disease of trout caused by the myxosporidean protozoan Myxosoma cerebralis. The parasite enters spine of the fish at a stage before the cartilage has turned to bone. Causes bent spines which force the fish to swim in the characteristic "whirling" motion, that is also called tail hunting. The spores of the parasites can remain in the mud of ponds for a long time. Also called twist disease).

black wing = dried salted split cod which has not been white naped and which has gone stale.

black yarn = an unsuccessful fishing trip (Scottish dialect).

black-spot disease = the encysted intermediate, metacercarial life history stage of a strigeid trematode (Uvulifer ambloplitis, and also Cryptocotyle lingula) found in a fish's skin, gills and eyes. The skin develops black to brown pigment over the cysts forming the characteristic spots. Usually harmless to fish unless very severe, but unsightly and commercially a problem. Herons and kingfishers are the definitive host and snails are an intermediate host. See also black grub.

blackberry = the parasitic copepod Lernaeocera branchialis found under the gills of cod, resembling a crowberry (Newfoundland).

blackberry fish = blackberry.

blackberry odour = an odour found in some fish flesh caused by dimethylsulphide formed from dimethyl-ß-propiothetin in the diet when fish feed on pteropods such as Spiratella retroversa and S. helicina, e.g. in mackerel and cod respectively. Resembles a sulphide, gunpowder or paraffin-like odour. Also called weedy odour.

blacken = to coat fish with pepper or other spices and then searing the fish in a skillet to produce a blackened outside and tender inside.

blackening = 1) a black discolouration of canned fish caused by defects in the lining of the can such that sulphides in the flesh interact with the can steel to from black iron sulphide.

blackening = 2) black discolouration in Molva dypterigia caused by the ink bag parasite, a copepod (Sarcotaces arcticus), which has an ink bag that may be perforated during filleting. The parasite can be cut out of the fish without staining the surrounding flesh.

blacklisting = the identification of waters where fishing is prohibited because the fish are contaminated, e.g. with heavy metals.

blacksmith = an old halibut with a very dark colour (Scottish dialect).

blackspot = 1) cysts of the intermediate stages of trematodes found in the skin of fishes, black because of melanin deposits by the fish (see black-spot disease).

blackspot = 2) a dense school of fish below the water surface.

blackwater = 1) very soft water, rich in humic acids and poor in nutrients with minimal transparency. pH is around 3.5-4.8 and colour is stained by tannins. Found in tropical areas especially and supporting a distinct fish fauna. Called cedar water in the eastern U.S.A.

blackwater = 2) water with human, animal and food wastes.

blackwater extract = a water conditioner for aquaria meant to imitate blackwater (1).

bladder queue = 1) a row of floats indicating a drift net.

bladder queue = 2) a line up of people outside a bathroom (slang).

bladder queue = 3) a row of balls awaiting inflation at a sporting event (slang).

bladdery = resembling or like a bladder, possessing a bladder or bladders.

blade = 1) the anterior dorsal fin rays fused into a blade-like structure in members of the Argyropelecidae.

blade = 2) a leaf-like structure.

blade = 3) an arched, convex cutting edge without cusplets, e.g. in shark teeth.

blade bait = 1) in angling, any spinner or spoon with a rotating blade.

blade bait = 2) a weighted, fish-shaped blade with a swinging hook, designed for fishing deep.

blaem = said of fish showing at the surface of the water (Scottish dialect).

blagda = a long piece cut from the belly of a fish and used as bait (Scottish dialect). Also spelled blaget.

blaget = blagda.

blah blah fishcakes = an expression used to deride or summarily dismiss any tedious speech, conversation, or situation. English version of yadda, yadda, yadda.

blaisse = blase (1 and 2).

blaize = blase (1 and 2).

bland fish protein concentrate = concentrate with lipids, odour and flavour removed under hygienic conditions (see fish protein concentrate). Abbreviated as bland FPC.

bland FPF = bland fish protein concentrate.

blank = 1) a fishing rod without grip, guides or finish.

blank = 2) an unsuccessful fishing season or trip.

blanket net = a type of liftnet suspended by one end from a boat and pulled in from the bottom by a line from the boat deck.

blase = 1) a torch used to see salmon for spearing at night (Scottish dialect). Also spelled blaisse, blass and blaize.

blase = 2) the act of using a blase (Scottish dialect).

blass = blase (1 and 2).

blast fishing = dynamite fishing (the use of explosives to kill and stun fish for capture. Used on coral reefs where nets cannot be operated without becoming tangled or ripped. Obviously illegal almost everywhere. Has been used by ichthyologists as a sampling method).

blast freezing = freezing fish products by circulating cold air over them.

blasting = fish bombing (home-made bomb made from an empty glass bottle filled with fertiliser and kerosene used to stun fish on coral reefs for capture and sale in the aquarium trade).

blastocoel = the cavity of the blastula; segmentation cavity.

blastoderm = early embryonic tissue composed of blastomeres arranged in a sheet-like fashion; used to refer to embryonic tissue before embryonic axis formation.

blastodisc = the early embryo of Teleostei comprising a disc or cap of cells on the yolk.

blastomere = individual cells forming the early embryo of Teleostei.

blastopore = a circular area on the yolk of Teleostei eggs not covered by the advancing germ ring during epiboly.

blastula = the single-layered, hollow ball of cells, the final product of cleavage stages in the embryo characterised by formation of the blastocoel.

blawn = dried in the wind (Shetland Isles dialect).

blaze = 1) to catch salmon by torchlight, by striking them with a leister (q.v.) (British dialect).

blaze = 2) the torch used in salmon spearing (British dialect).

bleaching = a condition seen in fish skin where colour is lost through storage in water, in water thawing or in melting ice.

blebs = the enlargements of the afferent filament blood vessels in the outermost region of the interfilamental gill septa. It is possible that the blebs function to smooth the pulses and provide a uniform flow of blood through the secondary lamellae (Fromm, 1974). Also used to describe a skin vesicle containing fluid.

bled cod end = a net which allows discard of fish from its end before the net is brought completely on board.

bleeding = the draining of blood before freezing a fish, by cutting off the tail or by cutting the throat region. Used in production of high quality fish and to improve shelf life.

bleeding new = a metaphor borrowed from fish, which will not bleed when stale.

bleese = blaze.

bleeze = blaze.

bleg = a long piece cut from a fish, especially the belly, and used as bait (Scottish dialect). Also spelled blig, blegg, blegdt and bligg.

blegdt = bleg.

blegg = bleg.

bleggy = fish bait (Scottish dialect).

blessing the nets = a Christian ceremony in England, and elsewhere, where the nets used by fishermen are blessed to ensure a good harvest and a safe fishing season.

bleyan = a fish that has been bitten and sucked by another (Scottish dialect).

blig = bleg.

bligg = bleg.

B_lim = limit biomass, the minimum level of spawning stock biomass. Below this level there is a higher risk that the stock will suffer a severe reduction in productivity. See also precautionary approach, F_pa, B_pa and F_lim.

blimp = a short horizontal line on a sonar indicating fish presence.

blind casting = casting without seeing a fish, using knowledge of the water and likely locations fish are to be found.

blind lake = a lake without inflowing or outflowing streams.

blind side = said of the side of flatfishes without eyes that rests on the bottom; also called lower surface but not ventral surface because it is one of the flanks of the fish. Opposite of eyed side, q.v.

blind snatching = impaling a fish on a hook, without the fish taking a bait into its mouth, and when the fish is not seen by the fisherman.

blinder = a small meshed lining acting as a chafer for the cod-end of a trawl.

Blinky = a three-eyed fish making sporadic appearances on the The Simpsons television show; formed by mutation through radioactive wastes from a nuclear power plant.

bloat = 1) a fish floating belly up, tail up or head up due to an inability to control gas exchange in the swimbladder.

bloat = 2) Malawi bloat (a condition similar to dropsy (q.v.) seen in cichlids from the East African rift lakes (originally those from Lake Malawi). Progress is more rapid than in dropsy. Fish show lethargy, appetite loss, increase respiration,, gasping at the surface, abdominal swelling, with death in less than 3 days. Causes are uncertain but include bacterial infection and poor diet).

bloat herring = bloater (1).

bloater = 1) a lightly salted, unsplit, hot-smoked herring or cisco. Usually of a straw colour and may be marketed whole or boned, frozen, or semi-preserved as paste or canned.

bloater = 2) the salmonid Coregonus hoyi, a cisco of the North American Great Lakes so-called because of the swollen body resulting from expansion of the swimbladder when the fish is hauled up from great depths.

bloater paste = fish paste made of ground meat from bloaters (usually slightly smoked salted herring).

bloater stock = barrel-salted herrings on board a ship, for later smoking.

block = 1) frozen fish fillets in a rectangular shape, weighing 7.4 kg as a standard.

block = 2) a fragment of sea ice 6-30 feet across.

block fillet = a fillet comprising muscle mass from the side of the fish, usually joined at the back or belly. Also called angel fillet, cutlet, double fillet or when smoked golden cutlet.

block frozen = a mass of fish frozen as a block in a box, rather than frozen as individual fish.

block-end feeder = a tube with one end blocked, the other removable for adding particle baits such as maggots and hemp, and pierced with holes allowing gradual release of the bait into the water.

blocked quota shares = shares in a fishery that cannot be subdivided if transferred. The blocked quota has a size limit and the number of blocks an individual can own is limited in a given area. This ensures small units are available for purchase by new entrants to the fishery.

blogaben = the bone below the gill of a fish; the lug bone (q.v.) (Scottish dialect).

blood bight knot = a knot used in angling to form drop loops for attaching weights or a dropper line. Various websites have animated steps showing how to tie this knot.

blood clot = in commercial preparations of fish products, a measure of the number and area of blood clots in relation to the size of the fish.

blood end = 1) the part of the sound bone (q.v.) of a cod which is removed when the fish is split or the portion of the flesh adhering to the bone and cooked as a delicacy (Newfoundland).

blood end = 2) the end of the sound bone (q.v.) closest to the tail (Newfoundland).

blood island = a nest of developing blood cells arising late in the segmentation period from the intermediate mass, located in the anterior-ventral tail just posterior to the yolk extension.

blood knot = a knot in angling used to connect to pieces of line of the same thickness. Its form allows it to run smoothly through the rod rings or guides. Has strength of 65%. Generally not recommended. Various websites have animated steps showing how to tie this knot.

blood line = a line of blood along the backbone of fish being cleaned. It is removed in processing before the fish is frozen or prepared further.

blood meal = animal blood processed into meal and used as an inexpensive supplement in fish feeds, e.g. usually less than 10% in salmonid feeds.

blood meat = dark meat (muscle from just under the skin on each side of a fish that is darker and richer in fat than other flesh. Also called brown muscle, dark muscle, red muscle).

blood parrot cichlid = a hybrid cichlid with various deformities first bred in Taiwan about 1986. Deformities include a beak-shaped mouth that cannot close properly, a deformed gas bladder that affects swimming ability, abnormal spines contributing to their unique shape, and unusually large irises. Usually bright orange in colour, they may also be dyed, shortening their life span. The parents are uncertain but may include the midas cichlid (Amphilophus citrinellus) and the redhead cichlid Vieja synspila), or the banded cichlid (Heros severus) and the red devil (Amphilophus labiatus). Ethically questionable, campaigns against their production and sale have been mounted. Also called bloody parrot and blood parrotfish.

blood parrotfish = blood parrot cichlid.

blood pickle = a solution of salt and body fluids formed when immersing fatty fish such as herring in dry salt in an air tight barrel.

blood spots = superficial red blood marks on fish fillets, noticeable on white flesh, removable by washing.

blood water = a liquid comprised mostly of fish blood and water, resulting from processing fish.

bloodworm = 1) the red chironomid midge larvae living in bottom sediments and used by anglers in Europe as bait for small fish and by aquarists as fish food. Some sources carry pathogens and may not be advisable as aquarium food.

bloodworm = 2) sandworm (a marine worm (Polychaeta) used as bait in angling, e.g. for striped bass).

bloodworm scraper = a tool used to collect bloodworms, comprising a long handle and an angled metal blade to which the bloodworms stick when it is scraped through the silt.

bloody boil = furunculosis (a systemic bacterial disease (Aeromonas salmonicida) generally of salmonids but also found in some flatfishes such as turbot (Scophthalmus maximus). Usually occurs in young fish following stress and in spring when temperatures rise and is characterised by loss of appetite as the intestine is inflamed).

bloody parrot = blood parrot cichlid.

bloom = a rapid and localised increase in the density of plankton resulting from a nutrient-rich habitat. The nutrients may come from upwelling, mixing or pollution and the bloom can kill fish populations through toxins or oxygen depletion.

Bloss = biomass at the lowest observed stock size.

blotch = an irregular pigment mark, often with poorly defined margins.

blow = to dry fish in the open air without salt.

blow down = a tree that has fallen into the water and so creates a habitat for fishes.

blow line = a light line used in angling that is carried by the wind, only the live or artificial bait touching the water surface. Also called sail as it catches the wind.

blow-fish = fish dried by exposure to the wind.

blow-herring = a herring slightly cured for speedy consumption.

blow-meat = flesh or fish dried by the wind.

blowfish = 1) a person with unjustifiably high self-esteem as evidenced by the assumption of an exaggerated, large, or erect posture.

blowfish = 2) a cipher used in cryptography.

blowfish = 3) fish dried by exposure to the wind.

blown = 1) a spoiled can of fish evident by its swollen ends.

blown = 2) fish oil slightly oxidised by blowing air through it.

blown out = referring to a river after heavy rain, having high water levels and muddy conditions.

blowser = one who assists in dragging the seine nets into shallow water in pilchard fishing (Cornish dialect).

blowsing = pilchard fishing, working in seine boats (Cornish dialect).

blubber = 1) to smear or coat wooden objects or structures with rendered cod livers as a preservative against the salt water (Newfoundland).

blubber = 2) to hurl rotted cod livers or to assault someone by smearing with cod oil (Newfoundland).

blubber barrel = blubber tub.

blubber butt = blubber tub.

blubber cask = blubber tub.

blubber puncheon = blubber tub.

blubber tub = a large wooden container in which cod livers are stored or placed for the rendering of the oil (Newfoundland).

blubber soap = a soap made from the oil and rotted livers of cod (Newfoundland).

blubberlip = an aquarium term for the thickened lips of some cichlids and grunts, apparently an aid in feeding.

blue bones = blue, blue-green or green bones are known from such fishes as Cottus, Belone, Zoarces, Strongylura, Tautoga, the pigment being closely similar to bilverdin. Skin areas and spinal cord may also have this colouration.

blue disease = a disease of unknown cause evidenced by a blue line on the dorsal side of the body.

blue drop = an area of open sea water in an ice-field.

blue flesh = some fishes have a bluish tinge to the flesh and bones although they are edible, e.g. the labrid Tautoga onitis.

blue frontier = the oceans in the sense of an area to be explored.

blue hole = a circular area in a tropical marine habitat where water depth is greater (creating a blue colour) than ringing coral. Attracts a variety of fish species. Also found landlocked in the low po