G
Gas
bladder: A gas-filled sac found in many fishes. Gas bladders
help provide buoyancy; they're also called swim bladders.
Gastropod: A group of molluscs that travel
on a single, muscular foot and often secrete a one-piece shell for
protection. Snails, slugs, limpets and abalones are all
gastropods.
Gear limits: Management term used to limit
the type of fishing gear used by fishers.
Gender limits: Fish
protected by sex, e.g. female mudcrabs are protected by law from being
taken by fishers.
Genera: A collective term used to
incorporate like-species into one group. The first part of the Latin
name of any creature refers to the genus.
Genus: In biology, a
category that's part of the scientific system for grouping together
related plants, animals and other organisms (kingdom, phylum, class,
order, family, genus, species). Genus is the category that ranks below
a family and above a species.
Geology: The
scientific study of rocks, the earth's crust and the earth's
interior.
Gill: An organ that an animal uses to
breathe under water. Gills absorb oxygen from the water.
Gill
covers: The tough flaps of tissue that cover a fish's
gills.
Gill net: A type of fishing net that
catches fish by their gills or gill covers.
Global positioning system
(GPS): An electronic system that uses signals from satellites
to locate things far below on the surface of the earth or ocean. GPS
technology is being used to make very accurate new maps of the earth
and ocean. GPS devices let scientists and fishers find their way very
precisely.
Godwit: A long-legged shorebird with a very
long, straight bill.
Golden-eye mysid: A shrimp like animal that
lives on the seafloor. The golden-eye mysid was named for the way its
eyes reflected the lights of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)
exploring the deep sea.
Gondwanaland: A
hypothetical protocontinent of the Southern Hemisphere, named for the
Gondwana region of India, which included the present continental masses
Africa, Antarctica, Australia, India and South America.
Goofy foot
(surfing): Refers to stand up surfers who put their right
foot forward when surfing.
Gorges: Fish hooks
without curves, made from bone.
Gorgonian: A member
of a group of corals that grow in tree like shapes; some live in cold,
deep water and grow very slowly.
Gravitational
attraction: Force of attraction between two
objects.
Gravity: A force of attraction towards the
centre of objects.
Greases: Thick oily substances used to
lubricate marine parts.
Greenhouse effect: A
build-up of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases in the atmosphere
preventing heat from escaping from Earth.
Grow-out farms: Places where adult aquaculture animals are raised until they are harvested.
Groynes: Boulders placed by humans that jut
out to sea to capture sand and form a beach. Found to be ineffective
because they only cause erosion on the opposite side of the rock
wall.
Guano: The droppings of birds or bats. In
some places, like penguin colonies, huge deposits of guano build up
over many years. People sometimes harvest this guano to use as
fertilizer for farms and gardens.
Guitarfish: A
flattened fish in the shark family, not quite as flat as a skate or
ray.
Gulfs: Portion of sea partly enclosed by
land.
Gullet: The throat.
Gunwale: The
upper edge of the side of a boat.
Gutting: Removing
intestines and other internal organs of a fish.
Gyres: Currents moving in large circles in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
