Unit 07 :
Fish and Seafood

Vocabulary

Let’s learn about different kinds of fish and seafood!

Part 1

1. aquaculture /ˈæk.wə.kʌl.tʃɚ/
(n) the raising of water animals such as fish for food, or the growing of plants in water for food 

Aquaculture was invented by Aboriginal Australians long before agriculture developed.

2. canned / kænd /
(adj.) preserved and sold in a metal container 

You can use canned tuna to make tuna salad.

3. caviar /ˈkæv.i.ɑːr/
(n) the eggs of various large fish, especially the sturgeon, eaten as food

Why do people think caviar is so special? It’s just fish eggs.

4. crayfish /ˈkreɪ.fɪʃ/
(n) a small animal that lives in rivers and is similar to a lobster, or its flesh eaten as food

 In Australia, people used to call lobsters “crayfish”.

5. eel /iːl/
(n) a long, thin, snake-like fish, some types of which are eaten

Eels are hard to hold because they’re so slippery.

6. fillet /ˈfɪl.ɪt/
(n) a piece of meat or fish without bones

It’s easy to overcook salmon fillets, so be careful.

7. fish /fɪʃ/
(n) an animal that lives in water, is covered with scales, and breathes by taking water in through its mouth, or the flesh of these animals eaten as food
(v) to try to find something, using your fingers to look for it

I eat fish three or four times a week.

Let’s go fishing next weekend.

8. lobster /ˈlɑːb.stɚ/
(n) an animal that lives in the sea and has a long body covered with a hard shell, two large claws, and eight legs, or its flesh when used as food

I ordered steamed lobster tails.

9. octopus /ˈɑːk.tə.pəs/
(n) a sea creature with a soft, oval body and eight tentacles(= long parts like arms)

We shouldn’t eat highly intelligent animals like octopuses.

10. oyster /ˈɔɪ.stɚ/
(n) a large creature that lives in a shell, some types of which can be eaten either cooked or uncooked, and other types of which produce pearls (=small round white precious stones)

Let’s order a plate of oysters.

Part 2

11. pickled / ˈPɪk. ə ld /
(adj.) preserved in salt water or vinegar

Have you ever tried pickled herring?

12. prawn /prɑːn/
(n) a small sea animal with a shell and ten legs, that can be eaten

If you squeeze the tail of a prawn, the flesh comes out.

13. roe /roʊ/
(n) fish eggs, eaten as food

Roe are taken from many kinds of fish and eaten in many different ways.

14. sashimi / sæʃˈiː.mi /
(n) a Japanese dish consisting of small pieces of uncooked fish  that are eaten with soy sauce

The sashimi here is supposed to be really good.

15. seafood /ˈsiː.fuːd/
(n) animals from the sea that can be eaten, especially fish or sea creatures with shells

This is my favourite seafood restaurant.

16. shellfish /ˈʃel.fɪʃ/
(n)  sea creatures that live in shells and are eaten as food, or one of these creatures

People living near the sea have always eaten shellfish.

17. squid  / skwɪd /
(n) an edible sea creatures that has a long body with eight arms and two tentacles

Do you know how to cook squid?

18. trawl /trɑːl/
(v) to pull a large, cone-shaped net through the sea at a deep level behind a special boat in order to catch fish

If commercial trawling continues like this, there’ll be no fish here in future.

Exercise

Describe to your tutor about what you see in this picture.