Fish and Wildlife Service

Throughout many of the documents and reports contained within the Ashland NFWCO website, some word definitions may be used that are unfamiliar. To help alleviate any misunderstandings that may develop, we have listed several key words and definitions to better explain the concepts we are attempting to convey.

Aquaculture -to foster the growth of the natural produce of fish or freshwater mussels.

Aquatic invasive species or (Aquatic nuisance species) - introduced, exotic, or transplanted species, including viruses, bacteria, protozoans, and parasites, that threaten the diversity or abundance of native species or the ecological stability of infested waters, or commercial, agricultural, aquacultural or recreational activities dependent on those waters.

Biodiversity - biological diversity in an environment as indicated by numbers of different species of plants and animals.

Brood stock - mature fish that provide eggs and milt to create fish for planting in lakes and streams.

Conservation - management, restoration, and protection of self-sustaining and imperiled species populations.

Diversity - differing from one another.

Endangered - animals or plants that are in danger of becoming extinct.

Exotic species - any species introduced from a foreign country (Shafland and Lewis 1984).

Extinct - no longer existing on earth.

Habitat alteration - a change in the structure or function of habitat.

Isolation facility - a facility used to isolate gametes (eggs) that come directly from the wild to prevent the introduction of disease into the hatchery system.

Larva - the early form of an animal (as a frog or sea urchin) that at birth or hatching is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose before assuming the adult characters.

Imperiled species - any species listed as threatened or endangered under the authority of the Endangered Species Act, considered a candidate for listing, or its population is in a steep decline.

Interjurisdictional fisheries - freshwater, coastal, or marine fish populations managed by two or more states, nations, or tribal governments because of their geographic distribution or migratory patterns.

Introduced species - any species moved from one place to another by human activity (Shafland and Lewis 1984).

Invasive Species - any non-native species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health (Executive Order 13112, 1999).

Native species - any species within historic range, the area occupied at the time of European colonization of North America (Horak 1995).

Naturalized species - any non-native species that has adapted and grows or multiplies as if native (Horak 1995).

Non-native species - any species that occupies an ecosystem beyond its historic range (Horak 1995).

Perched culvert - a culvert that is positioned too high to allow fish passage.

Remnant - a small surviving group.

Responsible fishing - the act of fishing while 1) abiding to all fishing regulations and laws; 2) preventing the spread of aquatic nuisance species, and; 3) respecting private property and the rights of other anglers.

Self-sustaining - capable of maintaining itself independently (Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, s.v. "self-sustaining").

Threatened - animals and plants that are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future.

Transplanted species - any species moved outside of its native range but within a country where it occurs naturally (Shafland and Lewis 1984).

Last updated: August 19, 2008

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