From Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia
Seafood is any
sea
animal or
seaweed that is served as
food or is suitable for eating. This usually
includes
seawater animals, such as
fish and
shellfish (including
mollusks and
crustaceans). By extension, in
North America although not generally in the
United Kingdom, the term seafood is also applied
to similar animals from
fresh water and all edible aquatic animals are
collectively referred to as seafood.
Edible
seaweeds are rarely considered seafood, even
though they come from seawater and are widely eaten
around the world. See
the category of sea vegetables.
The harvesting of seafood is
known as
fishing and the cultivation of seafood is known
as
aquaculture,
mariculture, or simply
fish farming.
Seafood is a source of
protein in many
diets around the world.
Predicted collapse
-
Research into population trends
of various species of seafood is pointing to a
global collapse of seafood species by 2048. Such a
collapse would occur due to pollution and
overfishing, threatening oceanic ecosystems,
according to some researchers.[1]
A major international scientific
study released in November 2006 in the journal
Science found that about one-third of all
fishing stocks worldwide have collapsed (with a
collapse being defined as a decline to less than 10%
of their maximum observed abundance), and that if
current trends continue all fish stocks worldwide
will collapse within fifty years.[2]
The
FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture
2004 report estimates that in 2003, of the main fish
stocks or groups of resources for which assessment
information is available, "approximately one-quarter
were overexploited, depleted or recovering from
depletion (16%, 7% and 1% respectively) and needed
rebuilding."[3]
Organizations such as the
National Fisheries Institute, however, disagree
with such findings and assert that currently
observed declines in fish population are due to
natural fluctuations and that enhanced technologies
will eventually alleviate whatever impact humanity
is having on oceanic life.[citation
needed]
Dishes
