Aquaculture The farming of aquatic animals (such as finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, etc.) and aquatic plants (mostly algae) using or within freshwater, sea water, brackish water or inland saline water.
Aquatic foods Animals, plants and microorganisms that are farmed in and harvested from water, as well as cell- and plant-based foods emerging from new technologies.
Aquatic food systems The complex web of all the elements (environment, people, inputs, processes, infrastructures, institutions, etc.) and activities that relate to the production, aggregation, processing, distribution, preparation, consumption and disposal of food products that originate from wild and capture fisheries, aquaculture and/or cell- and plant-based alternatives emerging from new technologies, and parts of the broader economic, societal and natural environments in which they are embedded. It encompasses the entire range of actors and their interlinked value-adding activities from production all the way to consumption, as well as the outcomes of these activities, including those related to nutrition, public health, food security, social and economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability.
Blue economy An emerging but contested concept which encourages better stewardship of “blue” resources from both freshwater and marine spaces, including the ocean, seas, coasts, mangroves, lakes, rivers, and underground water. It encompasses a range of productive sectors, including fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, transportation, shipbuilding, energy, bioprospecting, and underwater mining and related activities. It aims for improvement of human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing impact on the environment.
Fisheries The sum of activities leading to harvesting fish through wild capture or through aquaculture production in saltwater or freshwater. A fishery is typically defined in terms of the people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats, purpose of the activities, or a combination of the foregoing features.
Healthy and sustainable diets Diets with low environmental impacts that contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. They are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable and accessible, economically fair and affordable, and nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy—all while optimizing natural and human resources.
Impact A fundamental and durable change in the condition of people and their environment brought about by a project or intervention.
Innovation The process of introducing and taking to scale new ideas, products, services and solutions capable of facilitating impact.
Innovation system The interlinked set of people, processes, assets and social institutions that enable innovation.
Ocean economy The sum of the economic activities of ocean-based industries, together with the assets, goods and services provided by marine ecosystems. The interdependency of ocean-based industries and marine ecosystems combined with increasingly severe climate change threats to the health of the ocean have led to growing recognition of the need for an integrated approach to sustainable use and management of the ocean in ways that keep it healthy, productive, safe, secure and resilient.
Research Generation and communication of data, information and knowledge on an empirical basis.
Science Rigorous hypothesis-based research.
System A set of interacting entities and processes that form a complex whole.
System transformation A major shift in the governance and functioning of a system that brings about significant positive change for the majority of people in the system.