Aquaculture:
The farming of fish or shellfish. The most common species currently being farmed are mussels,oysters and salmon. Also known as marine farming.

Aquatic Life:
Any species of plant or animal life,whetherliving or dead, which at any stage in its life history, must inhabit water.

Barbels:
fleshy, whisker like projections that help the fish locate food in the murky water.

Bilateral:
affecting two sides.

Billfish:
These are species such as marlin and sailfish that have an elongated, sword-like or spear-like snout and upper jaw.

Bony fish:
These fish have a bony skeleton and a single pair of external gill openings.

Brackish water:
A mixture of freshwater and seawater.

Carapace:
the hard upper shell of a crustacean.

Carnivore:
An animal that lives or eats mainly on the flesh of other animals.

Cartilaginous fish:
These fish have skeletons made of cartilage.

Conical:
Having the form of, resembling a cone (cone shaped).

Conspicuous:
Easy to be seen.

Continental shelf:
A submerged border of a continent that slopes gradually and extends to a point of steeper descent to the ocean bottom.

Contractile:
Capable of contraction.

Corral:
To round up, or group together.

Crustaceans:
Animals that bodys are jointed with a hardened shell and have antennae.

Deepwater species:
A species that live at depths ranging from 200-1000 metres.

Denticles:
Small tooth or tooth like projection, dermal denticals are small spines embedded in the skin of sharks.

Demersal fish:
Bottom feeding fish.

Diffusion:
penetrate through pores.

Dorsal Fin:
The fin on the upper side of the body.

Endemic:
Native to a region and also confined to it, not occuring elseware.

Filament:
A series of attatched cells.

Filter feeders:
Species that trap food particles as they pump water through a filter.

Gills:
Fleshy organs that are used for breathing - they are located on the side of the head

Herbivore:
Plant eater.

Invertebrates:
Animals that have no spinal column.

Krill:
Pelagic crustaceans, a name given to a small species of of shrimp.

Lateral Line:
A series of sensory pores (small openings) that are located along the sides of fish - they sense vibrations in the water.

Marine Farming:
The farming of fish or shellfish.The most common species currently being farmed are mussels,oysters and salmon.

Molluscs:
Animals with a soft body, internal or external shell, Muscular foot and / or tentacles.

Nocturnal:
Sleeps during the day, and wakes and moves about at night.

Omnivore:
Plant and meat eaters.

Pectoral Fin:
Each of the paired fins on either side of the body, near the head.

Pelagic fish:
Surface feeding or free swimming fish.

Phytoplankton:
Minute, free-floating aquatic plants .

Plankton:
Simple forms of life stimulated to grow and multiply by light and nutrients in the water. Base of the marine food chain.

Polyps:
Polyps are tubes that have the mouth and tentacles on one end and are sealed on the other .

Pueruli:
A transparent miniture of a adult.

Roe:
the mass of eggs within the ovarian membrane of the female fish .

Scutes:
Horny or small spiky spines or plates .

Setae:
Bristles or fine hairs .

Shellfish:
An aquatic animal, such as a mollusc orcrustacean, that has a shell or shell-like exoskeleton.

Spawning:
The production of eggs.

Spawning grounds:
The areas that a fish stock or species will move to, to spawn.

Spongin:
The organic matter composing the skeleton of some sponges.

Subantarctic Water:
The water flowing to the South of New Zealand.

Subtropical Water:
The water coming from the west as the Tasman Current.

Tidal pool:
A pool affected by the tides.

Undersized fish:
Fish that do not meet the legal size limit for that paticular fish.

Unsegmented:
One part or piece.

Viscous:
Sticky adhesive.

Zooplankton:
The animal variety of plankton. These are mainly small crustaceans and fish larvae. Zooplankton graze on phytoplankton.

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