Fish and Shellfish

Humans were eating fish, shellfish, and sea mammals long before they started cultivating plants or domesticating animals for food. Excavations of Stone Age sites have uncovered fish nets, spears, and fishing hooks made from the upper beaks of birds. Seafood is now the only major food source that is still being hunted, most other sources being raised or grown. At present, there are over 20,000 known species of edible fish, shellfish, and sea mammals. Of these, approximately 250 species are harvested commercially in the United States, with millions of tons annually being served up for the consumption of humans and domesticated animals.

Classification of Fish and Shellfish

The staggering variety of creatures harvested from the water makes it difficult to classify them using only one set of criteria. As a result, several categories have arisen in order to distinguish them from each other: vertebrate or invertebrate, salt or fresh water, and lean or fat. Although these classifications are used to separate the identity of different fish, a vertebrate could be in salt or fresh water, and either lean or fat. The Food and Drug Administration has attempted to standardize fish nomenclature by publishing a “Guide to Acceptable Market Names for Food Fish Sold in Interstate Commerce”, and requiring that fish be named according to this publication.