Description

Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of mollusks (e.g. bivalve mollusks such as clams, oysters, and mussels and cephalopods such as octopus and squid), crustaceans (e.g. shrimp, crabs, and lobster), and echinoderms (e.g. sea cucumbers and sea urchins). Historically, marine mammals such as cetaceans (whales and dolphins) as well as seals have been eaten as food, though that happens to a lesser extent in modern times. Edible sea plants such as some seaweeds and microalgae are widely eaten as sea vegetables around the world, especially in Asia. In the United States, although not generally in the United Kingdom, the term “seafood” is extended to freshwater organisms eaten by humans, so all edible aquatic life may be referred to as “seafood”.