ASFIS REFERENCE SERIES, No. 6 Revision 3 - ASFIS-6 (Rev. 3) AQUATIC SCIENCES AND FISHERIES INFORMATION SYSTEMAquatic Sciences and Fisheries ThesaurusDescriptors Used in the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Information SystemOriginally compiled byE. Fagetti Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fisheries Department, Rome, Italy D.W. Privett Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Wormley, Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom J.R.L. Sears Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Bethesda, MD, United States of America | |
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PREFACE The Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Information System (ASFIS) is an international, cooperative information system dealing with the science, technology and management relating to marine, brackish water and freshwater organisms and environments, including their socio-economic and legal aspects. The system is maintained jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of Unesco (IOC), United Nations/Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UN/DOALOS) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) with the collaboration of numerous international and national institutes and organizations world-wide (i.e. the ASFIS/ASFA Partners). The ASFIS system's main output is the Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA) bibliographic database containing more than a 1 million references with abstracts and indexing, accessioned since 1971 (and earlier for specific subjects, journals or areas). Upwards of 4000 references are added to the database each month. The references or input to the ASFA bibliographic database are prepared by a network of National, and International ASFA Partners, including the ASFA Publisher (ProQuest). The bibliographic references are sent to the Publisher where they are processed by computer and merged to create a master file (i.e. the ASFA database). The ASFA database is made available to the ASFA Partners in various formats or media (e.g. Internet, CD/DVD Rom, printed abstracts journals) for use as a source of data for local or national information services. The database is also made commercially available by ProQuest to the general public. The bibliographic reference for each document in the ASFA database contains: 1) a detailed bibliographic citation, 2) an abstract; and 3) a set of indexing terms. The identification of the data elements making up the bibliographic citation, the writing of the abstract, and the choice of the indexing terms is the responsibility of the ASFA Partner. Computer based information systems operate most successfully when the input (in this case bibliographic references) is prepared with a high degree of consistency and accuracy. This is true for any computer based system, but it is even more important in an international system like ASFA in which the preparation of input is highly decentralized. In order to attain the desired level of consistency and accuracy, it is necessary that all of the persons submitting references for inclusion in the ASFA database are trained in using a standardized: cataloguing, abstracting and indexing procedure. The purpose of this Thesaurus is to assist the indexers, in the participating ASFA Partner institutes, in consistently choosing the most appropriate subject descriptors while preparing bibliographic references for inclusion in the ASFA database. Of course, the Thesaurus is also of use to the "searcher" of the ASFA database, and it is included as a tool or search aid in the interfaces to the computer searchable versions of the ASFA database. For further information on ASFA, see the ASFA Home page (http://www.fao.org/fi/asfa/asfa.asp) and, in particular, the FAQ page http://www.fao.org/fi/asfa/faq/faq.asp |
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (1986 Edition) To the compilers of this edition of the Thesaurus goes the credit for their unique and valuable achievement. The enormous task of structuring the terminology for the aquatic biology, biological oceanography, and living resource aspects was undertaken by Dr. Elda Fagetti of the FAO Fisheries Department; her dedicated efforts launched the development of this Thesaurus on a sound foundation. The entries relevant to the expanded scope of ASFA into physical oceanography, ocean technology and non-living resource aspects were added by Dr. D.W. Privett of the UK Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Wormley, working under contract to FAO. To Mr. J.R.L. Sears of Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Bethesda, MD., USA, goes the credit for suggesting a large number of descriptors and editing online the final print version of this Thesaurus. In addition to the compilers, acknowledgement goes to Arnold Myers (Institute of Offshore En-gineering, IOE) who contributed to the vocabulary in marine technology; to Cinda Yates Gainch (Division of the Unesco Libraries, Archives and Documentation Services), who adapted the SPINES software to the ASFIS Thesaurus requirements and carried out the initial computerisation process. Last but not least in this list of names go acknowledgements to Mr. E.F. Akyüz, Chief, Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Service, FAO, who made possible the realisation of this Thesaurus, to Mr. R. Needham, head of the Research Information Unit which is responsible for development of all of the ASFIS Reference Series, and to the ASFA staff of the same unit who in one way or another were involved in this lengthy task, particularly Mrs. Giovanna Sebastiani-Corbellini and Mrs. Luciana Lombardi-Gianandrea, for their invaluable and patient help at the keyboarding and proofreading stages of the Thesaurus. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (2000 Edition) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (2009 Edition) The 2009 Edition (Revision 3) incorporates some 200 further entries compiled from two draft lists of amended and new terms. The first list was the collation of the suggestions sent by ASFA Partners. The second was drawn up by the FAO ASFA Secretariat from a review of the FAO Fisheries Glossary. The major work of compiling, circulating and coordinating these lists was undertaken by Ms Linda Noble (National Marine Biological Library, Plymouth, UK) and Ms Helen Wibley (ASFA Secretariat, Rome, Italy). Discussion and voting on the terms was undertaken by the ASFA Thesaurus Working Group which was re-established at the 2006 ASFA Board meeting. The members of this Group were Richard Pepe and Helen Wibley (FAO, ASFA Secretariat), Craig Emerson and Vicki Soto (ProQuest), Linda Noble (NMBL/UK), Jacqueline Prod’homme (IFREMER) and Ian Pettman (FBA/UK). The thesaurus revision was carried out by Ian Pettman (Freshwater Biological Association, The Ferry Landing, Ambleside, Cumbria, U.K) using the MultiTes Pro thesaurus software. Acknowledgment goes to the efforts of Ian Pettman, who, besides incorporating the revisions and making the necessary structural adjustments, also provided outputs for the print version of the Thesaurus and for other computer formats (XML, OWL and SKOS) for various other potential future applications (e.g. ontologies, GIS). |
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
IMPROVING THE UTILITY AND DIFFUSION OF FISHERIES STATISTICAL DATA AMONG RECOFI MEMBERS
1. PURPOSE AND COVERAGE OF ASFIS THESAURUS
2. RULES AND CONVENTIONS
3. SELECTION AND DEFINITION OF TERMS
4. SPECIFICITY AND PRE-COORDINATION
5. COMPUTER LOADING, CHECKING AND DEVELOPMENT
6. THESAURUS CLASSIFICATION, STRUCTURE AND NOTATION
7. GUIDELINES FOR TERM SELECTION BY USER
8. BIBLIOGRAPHY
9. THESAURUS TERMS
10. ASFA THESAURUS TERMINOLOGY CONTROL FORM