Seafood refers to any sea life that is regarded as food, including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include mollusks like clams and oysters, crustaceans like shrimp and crabs, and echinoderms like sea cucumbers. The harvesting of wild seafood is known as fishing, while farming seafood is known as aquaculture. Seafood has been an important source of protein for many diets throughout history. Archaeological evidence shows that humans have been harvesting and consuming seafood for over 165,000 years. Ancient civilizations like Egyptians and Greeks commonly ate seafood as a staple food.
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Top 40 Seafood Guide
1. Seafood
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Seafood ​is any form of sea life regarded as ​food ​by humans,Â
prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include variousÂ
species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters,Â
and m​ussels​ and cephalopods such as octopus and squid),Â
crus​taceans​ (e.g. ​shrimp​, crabs, and lobster), and echinoderms (e.g.Â
sea cucumbers and sea urchins). Historically, marine mammalsÂ
such as cetaceans (whales and dolphins) as well as seals have beenÂ
eaten as food, though that happens to a lesser extent in modernÂ
times. Edible sea plants such as some seaweeds and microalgae areÂ
2. widely eaten as ​s​ea vegetables​ around the world, especially in Asia.Â
In the United States, although not generally in the United Kingdom,Â
the term "seafood" is extended to freshwater organisms eaten byÂ
humans, so all edible aquatic life may be referred to as "seafood".Â
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The harvesting of wild seafood is usually known as fishing orÂ
hunting, while the cultivation and farming of seafood is known asÂ
aquaculture or fi​sh farming​ (in the case of fish). Seafood is oftenÂ
colloquially distinguished from meat, although it is still animal inÂ
nature and is excluded from a vegetarian diet, as decided by groupsÂ
like the Vegetarian Society after confusion surroundingÂ
pescetarianism. Seafood is an important source of (animal) proteinÂ
in many diets around the world, especially in coastal areas.Â
Most of the seafood harvest is consumed by humans, but aÂ
significant proportion is used as fish food to farm other fish or rearÂ
farm animals. Some seafoods (i.e. kelp) are used as food for otherÂ
plants (a fertilizer). In these ways, seafoods are used to produceÂ
further food for human consumption. Also, products such as fish oilÂ
and spirulina tablets are extracted from seafood. Some seafood isÂ
fed to aquarium fish, or used to feed domestic pets such as cats. AÂ
3. small proportion is used in medicine, or is used industrially forÂ
nonfood purposes (e.g. leather).
History
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The harvesting, processing, and consuming of seafoods are ancientÂ
practices with archaeological evidence dating back well into theÂ
Paleolithic. Findings in a sea cave at Pinnacle Point in South AfricaÂ
indicate Homo sapiens (modern humans) harvested marine life asÂ
early as 165,000 years ago, while the Neanderthals, an extinctÂ
human species contemporary with early Homo sapiens, appear toÂ
have been eating seafood at sites along the Mediterranean coastÂ
4. beginning around the same time. Isotopic analysis of the skeletalÂ
remains of Tianyuan man, a 40,000-year-old anatomically modernÂ
human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumedÂ
freshwater fish. Archaeology features such as shell middens,Â
discarded fish bones and cave paintings show that sea foods wereÂ
important for survival and consumed in significant quantities.Â
During this ​period​, most people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyleÂ
and were, of necessity, constantly on the move. However, earlyÂ
examples of permanent settlements (though not necessarilyÂ
permanently occupied), such as those at Lepenski Vir, were almostÂ
always associated with fishing as a major source of food.Â
The ancient river Nile was full of fish; fresh and dried fish were aÂ
staple food for much of the population. The Egyptians hadÂ
implements and methods for fishing and these are illustrated inÂ
tomb scenes, drawings, and papyrus documents. SomeÂ
representations hint at fishing being pursued as a pastime.Â
Fishing ​scenes are rarely represented in ancient Greek culture, aÂ
reflection of the low social status of fishing. However, Oppian ofÂ
Corycus, a Greek author wrote a major treatise on sea fishing, theÂ
Halieulica or Halieutika, composed between 177 and 180. This is theÂ
earliest such work to have survived to the modern day. TheÂ
consumption of fish varied in accordance with the wealth andÂ
location of the household. In the Greek islands and on the coast,Â
5. fresh fish and seafood (squid, octopus, and shellfish) wereÂ
common​. They were eaten locally but more often transportedÂ
inland. Sardines and anchovies were regular fare for the citizens ofÂ
Athens. They were sometimes sold fresh, but more frequentlyÂ
salted. A stele of the late ​3​rd century BCE from the small BoeotianÂ
city of Akraiphia, on Lake Copais, provides us with a list of fishÂ
prices. The cheapest was skaren (probably parrotfish) whereasÂ
Atlantic bluefin tuna was three times as expensive. CommonÂ
saltwater fish were yellowfin tuna, red mullet, ray, swordfish orÂ
sturgeon, a delicacy which was eaten salted. Lake Copais itself wasÂ
famous in all Greece for its eels, celebrated by the hero of TheÂ
Acharnians. Other freshwater fish were pike-fish, carp and the lessÂ
appreciated catfish.Â
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6. Pictorial evidence of Roman fishing comes from mosaics. At aÂ
certain time the goatfish was considered the epitome of luxury,Â
above all because its scales exhibit a bright red color when it diesÂ
out of water. For this reason these fish were occasionally allowed toÂ
die slowly at the table. There even was a recipe where this wouldÂ
take place in garo, in the sauce. At the beginning of the ImperialÂ
era, however, this custom suddenly came to an end, which is whyÂ
mullus in the feast of Trimalchio (see the Satyricon) could beÂ
shown as a characteristic of the parvenu, who bores his guests withÂ
an unfashionable display of dying fish.Â
In medieval times, seafood was less prestigious than other animalÂ
meats, and often ​seen ​as merely an alternative to meat on fast days.Â
Still, seafood was the mainstay of many coastal populations.Â
Kippers made from herring caught in the North Sea could be foundÂ
in markets as far away as Constantinople. While large quantities ofÂ
fish were eaten fresh, a large proportion was salted, dried, and, to aÂ
lesser extent, smoked. ​Stockfish​, cod that was split down theÂ
middle, fixed to a pole and dried, was very common, thoughÂ
preparation could be time-consuming, and meant beating the driedÂ
fish with a mallet before soaking it in water. A wide range ofÂ
mollusks including oysters, mussels and scallops were eaten byÂ
coastal and river-dwelling populations, and freshwater crayfishÂ
were seen as a desirable alternative to meat during fish days.Â
7. Compared to meat, fish was much more expensive for inlandÂ
populations, ​especially ​in Central Europe, and therefore not anÂ
option for most.Â
Modern knowledge of the reproductive cycles of aquatic species hasÂ
led to the development of hatcheries and improved techniques ofÂ
fish farming and aquaculture. Better understanding of the hazardsÂ
of eating raw and undercooked fish and shellfish has led toÂ
improved preservation methods and ​processing​.Â
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