- Blog
- A web page (or “weblog”), typically run by an individual, that provides brief entries (posts) on a given topic and is regularly updated, with most recent posts listed at the top of the page.
- Branding
- The creation of a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates one product from another.
- Business plan
- An objective, written review of your business to identify areas of weakness and strength, pinpoint needs and begin planning how you can best achieve your business goals.
- Business structure
- The organizational framework, such as a corporation, a sole proprietorship or a limited liability corporation, for conducting commercial (business) activities.
- Certificate
- A document or seal that confirms the authenticity of an item such as a scale.
- Community Supported Fisheries (CSFs)
- Selling one’s catch directly to consumers who buy a certain amount of seafood up front (‘subscriptions’ or ‘shares’), with deliveries to a predetermined location on a set schedule for a fixed period of time.
- Corporation*
- A form of business organization that may have many owners with each owner liable only for the amount of his investment in the business.
- Craigslist
- A web-based classified advertising site.
- Crowdfunding
- The practice of funding a project by raising funds from multiple, individual donors, usually via an internet- web-based campaign or site. Examples include Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and GoFundMe, among others.
- Distributor/wholesaler*
- An agent who buys large lots of product, transports and possibly warehouses it, and then sells small quantities to many food service or retail outlets.
- Easement (right-of-way)
- The right to use another’s property without owning that property (e.g., to set up a roadside stand at a site owned by the state, a business or an individual).
- eList
- An electronic mailing list that enables one to send information to a group of internet users.
- eMarkets (e.g., eLists, eServices and Online Sales)
- Selling one’s catch by communicating with or accepting direct orders from customers via electronic technologies.
- An online social networking service that individuals can use to share information with others.
- Fishermen's/Farmers' Markets
- Selling one’s catch directly to consumers as part of an established community market.
- Food Buying Clubs
- Selling one’s catch directly to a coordinator of a food buying club.
- Food service industry*
- The group of food providers that includes restaurants, hotels and cafeterias in establishments like schools, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and businesses.
- Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plan*
- A seafood safety assurance plan based on identifying and monitoring those points in the process system where contamination could occur.
- Institutional Sales (e.g., universities, hospitals, and large businesses)
- Selling one’s catch directly to food service operators who in turn prepare and serve the product to consumers).
- Landing receipt
- A form that documents key features of a commercial fishing trip and typically includes the species and amounts (in pounds) landed, amount (or price) paid to the fisherman for the catch, gear used, area fished, place and date of landing, and name of the vessel, skipper, and receiver (i.e., the shoreside fish-buying business or, if selling directly to the consumer, the fisherman). Also referred to as a ‘fish ticket’.
- A web-based, business-oriented social networking service that enables individuals and businesses to post their experience and expertise and connect with others.
- Market*
- The number of people and their total spending (actual or potential) for your product line within the geographic limits of your geographic ability. Also, the geographical area itself. Also, the ethnicity or other characteristics of a group of consumers. Also, the particular processing company that buys product from a fisherman. Also, as a verb, to conduct the activities (including research, product positioning and advertising) needed to bring a product to the attention of purchasers and get them to buy.
- Marketing*
- The business of tailoring the right mix of product form, price and promotion to a specific segment of the population to meet a sales goal.
- Market niche*
- A segment of the population that buys a certain product because it suits their needs in terms of product form, price, packaging and promotion style.
- Niche market*
- A (typically small) group of consumers, defined by ethnicity, geography or some other feature that allows them to be targeted by a sales effort for a particular type or quantity of product.
- Non-governmental organization (NGO)
- A non-profit, voluntary citizens' group that may be organized based on a given issue, common interest or other feature, and designs and/or carries out action(s) in pursuit of the group’s interest.
- Off-the-Boat/Over-the-Bank Sales
- Selling one’s catch directly from one’s boat or a nearby riverbank.
- Partnership*
- Two or more persons who are associated in order to pursue a business for profit.
- Portion*
- A piece of fish (e.g., steak or piece of fillet) which is cut to a specific and uniform weight.
- Premises liability
- Responsibility for injuries that may occur at your market, on your vessel, or at the docks.
- Processing*
- Any of various mechanical activities that prepare fish for storage, transport and consumption by removing unwanted parts of it and stabilizing it by freezing or cooking. Secondary or value-added processing may include portioning, smoking, curing or other treatments that improve flavor or make it more user-friendly.
- Processor
- A business that handles and prepares seafood products for sale and distribution via a seafood intermediary.
- Product liability
- Responsibility to ensure that one’s seafood product, a highly perishable product, retains its quality and does not spoil, whether or not it causes illness to the consumer.
- Profitability
- The extent to which a business’s earnings exceed its expenses.
- Restaurants or Retail Market Sales
- Selling one’s catch directly to restaurants and retail markets.
- Retail*
- The final link in the distribution chain where the product is sold to the consumer. Fish markets and supermarkets are considered retail outlets; restaurants and institutional food service facilities usually are not.
- Risk management
- The identification and assessment of one’s or one’s business’s exposure to potential problems (e.g., loss, injury) and strategies used to avoid or limit that exposure.
- Sea Grant
- A national program administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that aims to enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources in order to create a sustainable economy and environment. A network of 33 Sea Grant programs in the nation’s coastal states and territories carries out this mission through research, extension and education activities.
- Seafood alternative marketing
- Also known as seafood direct marketing, entails fishermen taking on one or more steps in the typical long supply chain of buying, processing and distributing their catch, thereby shortening the supply chain between themselves and seafood consumers. Direct marketing implies product is sold directly to the ultimate consumer and not through others, whereas alternative marketing encompasses the diverse types of shorter supply chain marketing options. (See Types of Alternative Marketing page and related entries in this glossary.)
- Social media
- Internet-based applications that enable users to create and exchange information.
- Sole partnership*
- Ownership by one person of an entire business.
- Supply chain
- A system of organizations, people, activities, information and resources involved in transforming natural resources (or other raw materials) into a finished product and delivering that product to the consumer.
- Tally sheet
- A record of individual sales (indicting total pounds sold for each species) that a commercial fisherman must complete when selling his/her catch directly to the ultimate consumer. The tally sheet must be attached to a daily landing receipt also completed by the fisherman.
- Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)
- A US Department of Agriculture program that provides cash benefits and technical assistance to farmers and fishermen affected by imports.
- Traditional seafood marketing
- The long supply chain process of catching, offloading, processing and distributing seafood through multiple individuals/businesses, which then provide it to the consumer.
- Transportation receipt
- A form that commercial fishermen may use to record their catch, including weight by species, when transporting it to a licensed fish receiver, who then then must complete a fishing lading receipt.
- An online social networking service that enables users to exchange short (140-character) messages (“tweets”) with others.
- Value added*
- Further processing or packaging of a product that causes the product to sell for a higher price.
- Wholesaler
- A business that obtains fish from another licensed seafood business for resale to businesses, but not to ultimate consumers.
- Workers’ compensation
- Insurance that provides wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured on the job in exchange for the employee relinquishing his/her right to sue his or her employer for negligence.
- Your Own Market or Restaurant (including roadside stands)
- Selling one’s catch directly to consumers from one’s temporary or permanent structure.
*Fishermen’s Direct Marketing Manual, Appendix N, Glossary of Seafood Business Terms
Acronyms
- CSA
- Community Supported Agriculture
- CSF
- Community Supported Fishery
- ADFG
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game
- AGS
- Annual gross sales
- ATTRA
- National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
- CDFA
- California Department of Food and Agriculture
- CDFW
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife
- CDPH
- California Department of Public Health
- FDA
- (US) Food and Drug Administration
- HACCP
- Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
- NGO
- Non-governmental organization
- NMFS
- National Marine Fisheries Service
- NOAA
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- ODA
- Oregon Department of Agriculture
- ODFW
- Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
- SBA
- (US) Small Business Administration
- TAA
- Trade Adjustment Assistance
- USDA
- US Department of Agriculture
- WDA
- Washington Department of Agriculture
- WDFW
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
- WDPH
- Washington Department of Public Health