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PacFIN
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Pacific Fisheries Information Network
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Pacific Hake
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Meluccinus productus
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Pacific Halibut
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Hippoglossus stenolepis
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Pacific Razor Clam
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Siliqua patula
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PAH
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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon; one of over 100 chemicals that are produced by incomplete burning of wood, tar and other materials. They can persist in the environment from days to years, depending on their form and local conditions; some are carcinogenic.
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PAH
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Polycyclic Aromiatic Hydrocarbon; a group of chemicals generated in combustion, especially combustion of tars and oils; some are carcinogenic
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Paired fins
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The pectoral and pelvic fins
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Parasite
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An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host.
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Parr
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Juvenile salmon with large dark spots on their sides for camouflage. Salmon parr usually live in freshwater for 1 to 2 years
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Pathogens
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Disease producing organisms.
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Pathology
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The scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences.
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PCB
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Polychlorinated Biphenyl; a group of pollutants that accumulates in animal tissue
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PCHB
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Pollution Control Hearings Board (Washington State)
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PCMCIA
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Personal Computer Memory Card International Association
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PDf
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Probability Density Function - a description of the probability that a variable takes a specified value.
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Pectoral fins
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The farthest forward or uppermost of the paired fins.
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Pelagic
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Refers to the plants and animals that live in the water column or in the open waters of the ocean rather than the ocean floor (see benthic). Life is found throughout the pelagic zone, however is more concentrated at shallower depths. Pelagic organisms can be further divided into the plankton and nekton. Compare benthic. (epipelagic: living in the upper or photic layer between 0 and 200 meters; mesopelagic: living between 200 and 1000 meters).
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Pelvic fin
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The paired fin located beneath or behind the pectoral fin.
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Pesticides
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Chemical products used to reduce or eliminate unwanted organisms, regarded as "pests". Pesticides are often used on gardens, agricultural land, roadsides, and golf courses to eliminate species considered undesirable or damaging.
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PFMC
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Pacific Fishery Management Council
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Phage, bacteriophage
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A virus that invades and destroys ("eats") host bacteria
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Phagocyte
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A cell that engulfs or "eats" waste material or invading organisms; white blood cells are an example
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Pharyngeal arches
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The pair of curved bones located in the throat that bear the throat teeth
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Phenotype
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The physical appearance of an individual that is the result of that individual's genotype and the interaction of the genotype with the environment during development. Hence, individuals with the same genotype may have different phenotypes in different environments. Compare genotype.
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Phoca vitulina
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Harbor Seal
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Phosphoresence
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See "bioluminescence"
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Photic zone
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The surface layer of the ocean that is penetrated by sunlight. The photic zone is the layer of the ocean that has been explored the most as it is relatively easy to access with conventional diving equipment. In the photic zone phytoplankton flourish and it is where the fish, marine mammals, and marine invertebrates that most people are familiar with are found. Light can penetrate down to approximately 200m which marks the end of the photic zone. Also referred to as the Sunlight Zone or the Epipelagic Zone.
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Photosynthesis
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A chemical process whereby plants and algae use a sun's energy to make sugars (organic compounds) from carbon dioxide and water (inorganic compounds). See also autotroph, chemosynthesis.
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Phylum
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The broadest classification for animals. Compare species.
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Physiology
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The biological study of the functions of living organisms and their parts.
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Phytoplankton
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Literally "wandering plant": the plant and algae component of the plankton; the primary producers of almost all marine food webs. Compare zooplankton.
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Pink salmon
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Oncorhynchus gorbuscha ; a species of salmon with very large spots on their backs with large, oval black blotches on both lobes of their tails. Their scales are very small. The spawning adults take on a dull gray coloration on the back and upper sides with a creamy-white color below. The males develop a pronounced hump on their backs and are sometimes called "humpbacks".
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Pinniped
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Of or belonging to the Pinnipedia, a suborder of carnivorous aquatic mammals that includes the seals, walruses, and similar animals having finlike flippers as organs of locomotion.
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PIT tag
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Passive Integrated Transponder tag.
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PKI
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Public Key Infrastructure: a type of digital encryption standard
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Plankton
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Pelagic organisms that float through the water column, not attached to any substrate and unable to move against the currents and tides. Plankton can be further divided into phytoplankton and zooplankton, meroplankton and holoplankton. Compare nekton.
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Pleuronectes bilineatus
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Rock Sole
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PNP
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Private Non-Profit (Aquaculture Organizations, Alaska)
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PNWFHPC
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Pacific Northwest Fish Health Protection Committee
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Population
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The number of individuals of a particular species that live within a defined area.
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Predator
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An animal that hunts and kills other animals for food.
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Prey
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An animal that is used by other animals for food.
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Primary Consumer
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A heterotrophic, herbivorous organism that feeds directly on a primary producer. Urchins are a primary consumer as they feed on kelp. See also heterotroph, food chain; compare secondary consumer.
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Primary Producer
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The surface layer of the ocean that is penetrated by sunlight. The photic zone is the layer of the ocean that has been explored the most as it is relatively easy to access with conventional diving equipment. In the photic zone phytoplankton flourish and it is where the fish, marine mammals, and marine invertebrates that most people are familiar with are found. Light can penetrate down to approximately 200m which marks the end of the photic zone. Also referred to as the Sunlight Zone or the Epipelagic Zone
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Primary Production
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Synthesis of organic matter by plants, which is the main source of energy and nutrition for other consumers in the ecosystem (e.g. herbivores). See also chemosynthesis, photosynthesis.
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Processors
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People who purchase fish catches or prepare fish for sale
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Protein
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A large class of nitrogenous organic molecules constructed from amino acids; they are essential to the functioning of all living tissue, and include large sub-classes of molecules such as enzymes and hormones
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PSEP
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Puget Sound Estuary Protocols
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PSGA
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Puget Sound Gillnetters Association
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PSMFC
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Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
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PSP
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Paralytic shellfish poison.
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PSWQAT
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Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team
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