Glossary

If you've seen a word or phrase that you don't understand, please check this glossary for an explanation. If the word or phrase doesn't appear here, please contact us and we'll provide a definition and include it here.

You can e-mail your query to: rural-affairs@wales.gsi.gov.uk.  

A

AHVLA – Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency.  The agency was formed on 1 April 2011 following the merger of Animal Health and the Veterinary Laboratories Agency. AHVLA help deliver animal health and welfare policies in Wales.

Allocation - Distribution of the opportunity to fish among user groups or individuals. The share a user group gets is sometimes based on historic harvest amounts.

Allowable Biological Catch (ABC) - A term used by a management agency, which refers to the range of allowable catch for a species or species group.

Angling - Is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" (fish hook) which is attached to a fishing line and subsequent fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel and the hook itself can be camouflaged with bait or a float.

Anderson Reports – Sir Iain Anderson conducted an inquiry in to the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) outbreak. In 2007 he was asked by the UK Government to chair a review of the Government's reaction to the 2007 FMD outbreak.

Animal By-Product – Animal carcasses, parts of carcasses, or products of animal origin that are no longer intended for human consumption.

Autoclaving – Involves the high-pressure sterilisation of waste by steam which ‘cooks’ the waste and so destroys any bacteria in it.

Avian – Birds.

Avian Influenza – A highly contagious viral disease affecting many species of birds. It is commonly known as Bird Flu.

B

Biomass - The total weight or volume of a species in a given area.

Biosecurity – The activities taken to prevent the introduction of disease into a population that one is trying to protect.

Bovine – Cattle, bison and buffalo.

Bycatch - The harvest of fish or shellfish other than the species for which the fishing gear was set. Bycatch is also often called incidental catch. Some bycatch is kept for sale.

Byelaws - Provide detailed information on the rules applicable when fishing is permitted at specified intervals.

C

Closed herd - A herd in which no outside stock is introduced.

Camelids - Alpacas, guanacos, llamas and vicuñas, which are four members of the camel family native to South America.

Caprine – Goats

Catch - Catch includes but is not limited to any activity that results in killing any fish or bringing any live fish on board a vessel.

Catch Per Unit of Effort (CPUE) - The number of fish caught from an area over some period of time. Typically, effort is a combination of gear type, gear size, and length of time gear is used. Some catch may be discarded.

Clinical signs – An indication of a medical condition that can be observed.

Cloven-footed animals – An animal with a hoof that is split in to two, such as a pig, sheep, cow or deer.

Companion animal – Domestic animals such as cats and dogs, kept for companionship.

E

Effort - The amount of time and fishing power used to harvest fish. Fishing power includes gear size, boat size, and horsepower.

Emergency Co-ordination Centre (Wales) – The ECC(W) is responsible for co-ordinating advice on disease control from a Welsh perspective and the management of the wider consequences of a disease outbreak.

Endemic disease – Diseases that are known to exist in the populations of living things within a geographical area.

Epidemiology – The study of patterns of disease or productivity or welfare within an animal population and the factors that can affect those patterns.

Equidae/Equine – Horses, donkeys and zebras.

Exotic disease – An exotic disease is not usually present in Great Britain but occurs in other countries.

F

Fishery-Dependent and Fishery-Independent Data - Fishery-dependent data is collected on a fishery from commercial or sport fishermen and seafood dealers. Fishery-independent data is collected by scientists who catch the fish themselves during scientific research, rather than depending on fishermen and seafood dealers.

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) - A plan to achieve specified management goals for a fishery. It includes data, analyses, and management measures for a fishery.

Fishing Beats - A beat is usually used in relation to salmon fishing where individual salmon rivers are broken down into individual sections or beats according to ownership.

Fishing Mortality (F) - A measurement of the rate of removal of fish from a population by fishing. The acceptable rates of fishing mortality vary from species to species.

Freshwater Fish Farms - The farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants.  Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions.

G

Gamma Interferon blood test - A laboratory-based blood test, for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis.

H

Harvest - The total number or poundage of fish caught and kept from an area over a period of time. Note that landings, catch, and harvest are different.

I

Incubation period – The period of time between an animal being exposed to an infection and the animal displaying the clinical signs of that disease.

Inland Fisheries - This refers to locations where fishing activity occurs and fish are taken within fresh water for example from lakes, ponds, rivers and streams.

Insect-borne disease – A disease spread by insects.

Intertidal Fisheries Notices - Notices which provide restriction on fishing activity in the area between the land and sea that is covered by water at high tide and uncovered at low tide.  

L

Landings - The number or poundage of fish unloaded at a dock by commercial fishermen or brought to shore by recreational fishermen for personal use. Landings are reported at the points at which fish are brought to shore. Note that landings, catch, and harvest define different things.

Latrine - A shallow pit in the ground, up to 15cm deep, used by a badger to deposit faeces, urine and a scent mark.

Local Disease Control Centre (LDCC) – AHVLA will establish a LDCC to handle a disease outbreak/incident in Great Britain.

Livestock – Domesticated animals, such as cows and sheep, usually raised or kept for their meat and/or produce.

M

Marine Mollusc Farming and Marine Fish Farming -  This relates to mariculture which is a specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products in an enclosed section of the ocean, in tanks, ponds or raceways filled with seawater.

Maritime Coastguard Agency - The agency that has responsibility for implementing the government’s maritime safety policy in the UK and works to prevent the loss of life on the coast and at sea.

Maximum Fishing Mortality Threshold (MFMT) - A determined level used by fishery managers to assess whether a fish stock is undergoing overfishing. If fishing mortality rates exceed MFMT, a stock is determined to be undergoing overfishing.

Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) - The largest average catch that can be taken continuously (sustained) from a stock under average environmental conditions. This is often used as a management goal.

Minimum Stock Size Threshold (MSST)  - A biomass level used by fishery managers to assess whether a fish stock is overfished. If the biomass of a fish stock falls below MSST, a stock is determined to be overfished.

Microchipping – A microchip is a unique electronic implant inserted into an animal for the purpose of identifying it.

Mycobacterium bovis - The bacterium that causes bovine tuberculosis.

N

National Disease Control Centre (NDCC) – The GB response to a disease outbreak/incident is co-ordinated through a NDCC.

Natural Mortality (M) - A measurement of the rate of removal of fish from a population from natural causes. The rates of natural mortality vary from species to species.

Notifiable disease – A disease that must be reported to the veterinary authorities (AHVLA) if anyone suspects that an animal is infected.

O

Optimum Yield (OY) - The harvest level for a species that achieves the greatest overall benefits, including economic, social, and biological considerations. Optimum yield is different from maximum sustainable yield in that MSY considers only the biology of the species.

Overfishing - Harvesting at a rate equal to or greater than that which will meet the management goal. A stock or stock complex is considered undergoing overfishing when fishing mortality rate exceeds MFMT.

Ovine – Sheep.

P

Pathogen – A disease-producing agent such as a virus, bacterium, or other microorganism.

Porcine – Pigs.

Post mortem examination - The examination of a body after death to try and find out the cause of death.

Prevalence - The proportion of a defined population being infected with a disease at any point in time.

Products of animal origin – Can be anything that comes from animals.

Q

Quota - The maximum number or weight of fish that can be legally landed in a time period. It can apply to the total fishery or an individual fisherman’s share under an FQA system.

R

Recreational Angling - Recreational angling is classed as “sport fishing” and fishermen are often required to apply catch and release fishing. In many locations size limits apply to certain species, resulting in fish below and/or above a certain size must by law be released.

Recruitment - The amount of fish added to the exploitable stock each year due to growth and/or migration into the fishing area. For example, the number of fish that grow to become vulnerable to the fishing gear in one year would be the recruitment to the fishable population that year. This term is also used in referring to the number of fish from a year class reaching a certain age.

River Coarse Fishing - Coarse fishing is a term used for angling for coarse fish, which are those types of freshwater fish other than ‘game’ fish (salmon and trout) and includes chub, carp, barbel, bream, roach and dace.

Ruminant – Includes cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, deer, elk, giraffes and camels.

S

Sensitivity - The ability of a test to correctly identify an infected animal as positive, normally expressed as a percentage.

Spawning Potential Ratio (SPR) - The number of eggs that could be produced by an average fish recruiting to a fished stock divided by the number of eggs that could be produced by an average recruit in an unfished stock.

Spawning Stock Biomass - The total weight of the fish in a stock that are old enough to spawn.

Specificity - The ability of a test to correctly identify an uninfected animal as negative, normally expressed as a percentage.

Stock - A grouping of fish usually based on genetic relationship, geographic distribution, and movement patterns.

Stock Assessment - A scientific analysis on the condition of a fish stock and the interests of the fishermen and seafood processors who use the stock.

Still Waters - A flat or level section of a stream where no flow or motion of the current is discernible and the water is still.

Strategy for Sustainable Development of EU Aquaculture - The European Commission published a strategy which had three main elements namely i) help the sector become more competitive through research and development, ii) maintaining environmentally friendly production methods and standards of animal health and welfare and iii) ensure a business friendly environment locally, nationally and at European level.

Susceptible animals – Animals of a species that are able to be infected naturally or artificially by a disease.

Sustainable Fisheries Programme - A project funded by the Welsh Government which enables the Environment Agency to remove barriers and improve methods of access for migratory fish within rivers.

Swine – Includes pigs, hogs, and boars.

T

TB Breakdown - Detection of bovine tuberculosis or a test positive animal in a herd previously considered to be free from TB.

TB Reactor - A reactor animal is one that has failed the tuberculin skin test.

Third country – A country that is outside the European Union.

Total Allowable Catch (TAC) - The annual recommended catch for a species or species group. The regional council sets the TAC from the range of the acceptable biological catch.

Total Mortality (Z) - A measurement of the rate of removal of fish from a population by both fishing and natural causes. The rate of total mortality may vary from species to species.

V

Vector – A carrier of disease.

Veterinary risk assessment – An assessment of the risk of a disease entering an animal population or a change in the level of disease in a population by looking at the population of animals at risk, the nature of the disease as well as the management and environmental factors that can influence these. Factors that reduce the risk are also taken in to account.

Viral disease – Virus.

W

Wild animal – Animals not normally domesticated in Great Britain.

Z

Zoonotic disease – Diseases that can affect humans as well as animals.