TO
AQUACULTURE: Cultivation of animals and plants on farms or in cages in water. These include: Fish, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, mollusks, plants and algae intended for food or any other use by humans (recreation, study, obtaining products). Many of these farms use large quantities of chemicals (antibiotics) to prevent diseases. At least 3 or 4 kilos of wild fish, which are converted into feed, are needed to feed 1 kilo of farmed fish. These facilities generate a lot of waste, such as food scraps and faeces that contaminate the environment. Currently, one in three fish comes from aquaculture.
WASTEWATER: From homes, towns or industrial areas. They carry dirt and debris.
FRY: Breeding of fry in aquaculture. These are young of immature fish that have not yet reached the adult phase and therefore cannot reproduce.
ALGAE: Photosynthetic organisms that are mostly aquatic. They differ from plants in that they are structurally simple and do not differentiate roots, stems and leaves as such.
MARINE PROTECTED AREA: Marine area whose seabed, waters, associated flora and fauna, as well as its historical and cultural aspects, have been preserved by law or any other effective measure to protect all or part of the environment included therein.
TRAWLER: See Trawl Net.
CORAL REEF: See Corals
FISHING ARTS: Set of techniques and activities through which humans capture organisms from the water of rivers, lakes and the sea.
B
FLAGS OF CONVENIENCE: A country with a “flag of convenience” is one that allows fishing vessels to operate under its flag without ensuring that they comply with essential laws and regulations. These flags are used by some fishing vessels and companies to ignore legislation regarding the conservation and management of fishery resources, as well as safety and work standards.
BIOSPHERE: It is the part of the Earth where living organisms can be found and in which they interact with each other, both on the Earth's surface and in the air and oceans.
BIODIVERSITY: Biological diversity or biodiversity is the variety of living organisms, including their genes and the ecosystems in which they interact. For humans, biodiversity is a source of a large amount of food and a multitude of medicines derived from substances present in plants.
C:
CLIMATE CHANGE: Modification of the climate caused directly or indirectly by human activities. Human beings have become climatic agents. As a consequence of industrial activity and the burning of fuels to obtain energy, greenhouse gases are being emitted en masse. Greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide -CO2- and methane -CH4- are the main ones) are transparent to the radiation emitted by the sun, but are opaque to the infrared radiation emitted by our planet, therefore, they prevent energy from easily returning to space. Hence their name "greenhouse gases". 38% of carbon dioxide emissions come from energy production, and 24% come from transport. A rapid increase of a few degrees in the average global temperature in the oceans would cause the death of corals, the disappearance of coastal ecosystems and wetlands, mangroves, and many species that would not survive the increase in water temperature. The oceans and their plant life play a very important role in the absorption and transformation of CO2 that produces the greenhouse effect.
BYCATCHES: Catches of birds, turtles, marine mammals, fish and other organisms that were not the target of fishing, which accidentally become trapped in fishing nets.
SCIENTIFIC WHALING: Capture of a species for scientific research. Japan uses this practice as an excuse to continue whaling.
SEINS: Fishing vessels that use nets that hang vertically and are used for
to surround a fishing bank. Purse seine gear is mainly used to catch pelagic species.
CETACEANS: Marine mammals of various sizes that include whales (cetus in
Latin, hence the name cetaceans), sperm whales, beaked whales, oceanic dolphins (among others)
they are the killer whales, river dolphins and porpoises.
FOSSIL FUELS: Certain fuels (oil, coal and natural gas) that are
They are found forming geological deposits originating from the decomposition of plants and
animals that have been subjected to the heat and pressure of the earth's crust for hundreds of years.
of millions of years.
INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION: International organization responsible for the conservation and management of whale populations around the world.
BENTHONIC COMMUNITY: Organisms that live on the seabed (rocky or sandy), either on its surface or semi-buried in the sand.
POLLUTION: Any physical, chemical or biological alteration of the air, water or land
that causes damage to living organisms.
CORALS: Animal polyps that live in symbiosis with algae, forming colonies that give rise
to coral reefs. Coral reefs only make up 0.09% of the seas and the
oceans on the planet, but they are home to two million animal and plant species. It is said
which are the equivalent of rainforests in the sea.
D
DISCARDED: Fishing catches that, due to their low commercial value, are returned to the sea, generally dead.
AND
ECOSYSTEM: System formed by biological elements and their physical environment that interrelate dynamically.
GREENHOUSE EFFECT: See Climate Change
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Energy sources obtained from renewable resources, such as sunlight, wind, sea and biomass, which do not produce pollutants or waste in the energy generation process.
COASTAL EROSION: Process of coastal wear caused by waves, wind and sediments.
BREAKWATER: A projecting massif built on the banks of a river or on the sea coast to defend the margins or modify the current.
TO EXPLOIT: To exhaust a source of wealth or resource by exploiting it excessively, obtaining greater benefit than its capacity to regenerate.
ESTUARY: A body of continental water that communicates with the open sea and in which fresh water mixes with salt water due to the action of the tides.
F
PHANEROGAMS: Plant that produces seeds to reproduce.
PHYTOPLANKTON: Microscopic aquatic organisms that carry out photosynthesis. They live floating in the water and form the first link in the oceans' food web.
G
GLACIERS: A mass of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow in the high areas of mountain ranges above the perpetual snow line. They are currently in decline due to climate change.
H
HABITAT: Physical place of an ecosystem that brings together the natural conditions where a species lives and to which it is adapted.
K
KRILL: Small shrimp-like crustacean about 3 to 5 centimeters long, very
Krill is abundant in all the waters surrounding the southern continent. It is the basic food source for many species in the Antarctic. A break in the food web, of which krill is a part, could have catastrophic consequences in ecological terms. It is therefore a strategic element in Antarctic biology, constituting perhaps one of the most important links in the marine food chain.
L
TROPICAL SHRIMP: Over the last twenty years, global shrimp production
The tropical shrimp or shrimp production has increased considerably, reaching 814,000 tonnes in 1999. The Asian continent, where the tiger shrimp is the predominant species, provides 801 t3t of the world production. Since shrimp need warm waters to develop, their farming has been established in tropical coastal areas, especially in mangrove zones. The enormous waste from intensive farms, and the massive use of antibiotics, pollute this ecosystem.
OCEAN / MARINE FLOOR: Bottom of the sea.
LITORAL: Shore or coast of the sea.
M
MAMMALS: Vertebrate animals, with the ability to regulate their body temperature and that
They are characterized by having mammary glands with which to breastfeed their young with milk.
MANGROVES: Forests formed by trees adapted to the saline conditions of the waters.
Coastal mangroves. They are essential for marine life, as they are feeding areas, breeding grounds, hatching grounds, and winter quarters for migratory birds. They also stabilize coastal margins by allowing sediments brought in by rivers to settle, protect against hurricanes, and fight against the erosive power of the ocean. Half of the world's mangroves have disappeared during the 20th century.
OIL SCOOT: Layer of oil that forms on the surface of the sea after a spill.
It causes serious effects on marine and coastal fauna and flora.
SHELLFISHING: Specific type of fishing consisting of the extractive capture of shellfish.
MORATORIUM: Temporary stoppage or suspension of an activity.
P
PELAGIC: Marine animals and plants that live in very remote areas.
FISHING: It is one of the oldest activities carried out by humans to obtain food from the oceans and seas. Fishing, carried out responsibly and sustainably, can guarantee a supply of high-value food for the world's population and constitute a means of livelihood for present and future generations.
IMMATURE FISH: Fish captured before reaching reproductive age, and therefore have not contributed to repopulation.
PLACTON: Set of aquatic microscopic organisms. They can be plants –phytoplankton- or animals –zooplankton-.
PVC: Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is one of the most widely used plastic materials. It includes in
Its composition contains numerous additives, including toxic substances such as phthalates, which affect the hormonal system and are associated with asthma and allergies.
R
RAMSAR CONVENTION: Signed in the city of Ramsar (Iran) in 1971. Its main objective is “the conservation and rational use of wetlands through local, regional and national actions and thanks to international cooperation, as a contribution to achieving sustainable development throughout the world.”
FOOD WEB: Succession of relationships between living organisms that feed on each other in a certain order.
TRAWLING NETS: One of the most destructive fishing techniques, causing enormous damage to marine biodiversity. A towed net that consists of a cone-shaped body, closed by a bag, which widens at the mouth by means of wings. It can be towed by one or two boats and, depending on the type, is used on the seabed or at medium depth.
DRIFTNETS: One of the most destructive fishing methods, causing enormous damage to marine biodiversity. It is a huge net that hangs vertically and moves for kilometres with the sea currents, trapping many species that are not targeted. Every year, these nets kill thousands of cetaceans, turtles, sharks and dolphins. Currently, their use is prohibited in almost the entire world.
WASTE: All material in solid, liquid or gaseous state, whether isolated or mixed with
others, resulting from a process of extraction from Nature, transformation, manufacturing
or consumption, which its owner decides to abandon.
S
AUSTRAL WHALE SANCTUARY (SBA): Established in 1994 by the Whaling Commission
International. The SBA covers all the seas surrounding Antarctica, protecting three-quarters of the world's whales in their feeding areas. The SBA provides protection for depleted populations of blue whales, fin whales, humpback whales and the only major population not severely depleted by whaling: the minke whale.
OVERFISHING: Capture of high numbers of specimens, exceeding the
capacity of the population to reproduce and regenerate.
SUSTAINABLE: Applied to a resource, it means the use of it without exceeding its
natural capacity to renew itself. In relation to fishery resources, it means capturing specimens without exceeding the capacity of natural populations to reproduce and maintaining
their populations to levels that ensure the proper functioning of the ecosystem.
TOXIC SUBSTANCES: Any chemical substance that has harmful effects on an organism
live. Toxicity results from an interaction between the chemical substance and the organism, so it will vary according to the species, the exposure time, the age, the sex, the form of contact with the substance and the concentration (dose).
OR
IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, known as the “World Conservation Union”.
Z
ZOOPLANKTON: Tiny animal organisms that live floating in the aquatic environment.
SOURCES: The need to defend the oceans.
ES_ES 
EN