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Also called limited access and limited control. A program that restricts the persons or vessels that may participate in a fishery. License limitation and individual fishing quota programs are two forms of controlled access.

Fishing gear made up of a long main line attached to which are a large number of short branch lines. At the end of each branch line is a baited hook. When catching groundfish, longlines are laid on the seafloor. When catching fish in the water column, the longlines are buoyed near the surface. Longlines can be 20+ miles long. They are also called setlines.

A specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products in the open ocean or an enclosed section of the ocean (e.g., Prawns, Oysters, Seaweed, Abalone).

A set of 10 conservation and management standards included in the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Each fishery management plan must be consistent with all 10 nautical standards.

A program that places trained observers onboard fishing vessels to collect data on catch, bycatch, and fishing practices.

A fishery in which no restrictions on entry or gear occur. License may be required in an open access fishery, but if no quotas in fishermen exist the fishery is still considered open access.

Refers to fish and animals that live in the open sea, away from the sea bottom.

A portion of a total allowable catch that is allocated to a particular boat, fishery, region, or nation for a fishing season.

Fisheries management decisions informed by data, research, and scientific analysis.

A term for a specific life stage in salmonids. In anadromous populations parr (small active fish with series of bars on their sides) transform into silvery smolts and migrate to the sea. Once in the ocean (or large lakes), the smolts gradually become mature and return to their home streams for spawning.

A grouping of fish usually based on genetic relationship, geographic distribution, and movement patterns. Also a managed unit of fish.

Fishing for personal or community use, often for food security and cultural practices.

The catch limit for a particular fishery, generally for a year or fishing season. TACs are usually expressed in weight or for larger species, in numbers of fish.

A sturdy bag or net that can be dragged along the ocean bottom, to catch fish.

To trail artificial or natural baits behind a moving boat. The bait can be made to skip along the surface or trailed below at any depth to just above the bottom. A bait or lure trailed behind an angler walking along a pier, bridge, or breakwater is also called trolling.

In fisheries, yield is the percent of the original product available for sale after processing. The yield generally refers to the edible or marketable part of the seafood catch after cleaning, removing unwanted parts, etc.