Aquaculture: The breeding, rearing and harvesting of plants and animals in water environments, including ponds, rivers, lakes, oceans, and land-based systems. Aquaculture is also often referred to as fish or seafood farming.
Carbon footprint: The amount of carbon dioxide emissions produced by a specific activity. Aquaculture generally has a lower carbon footprint than other animal protein sources.
Ecolabels: Voluntary, independent or third party certification or assessment processes that rate a product for its environmental performance. Examples include the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.
Farm systems: Methods for aquaculture vary based on the species being farmed and where the farm is located; types of farms include recirculating aquaculture systems, net pens, raceways, ponds and submersible pens.
Source: Seafood Watch
Hatchery: A hatchery is a hybrid of a laboratory and a farm, where fish and shellfish are spawned, then hatched and cared for. Hatcheries provide the seed for aquaculture systems and some commercial fisheries.
Ocean acidification: A term that refers to the reduction in pH across the global ocean, caused by its absorption of excess carbon dioxide. The resulting chemical reactions lowers pH, resulting in more acidic seawater which affects the availability of calcium carbonate to shell-building animals such as oysters and crabs.
Source: National Aquarium
Sea vegetables: Edible algae or seaweed, including kelp, nori, sea grapes and arame.